The NBA season is entering its final month, and 14 teams have secured a spot in the playoffs. Outside of the Boston Celtics, each team has about six games left, so there's still plenty of opportunity to play.
Boston won the Eastern Conference regular season title and will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. No other team has yet been locked into a playoff seed, and the Western Conference remains fiercely contested, with the top three teams separated by just one game.
All 10 of the East's playoff spots have been clinched, but the West still has a little wiggle room. As play begins in April, 21 teams will be vying for this year's NBA title.
Here's how these 21 teams rank before the playoffs start, based on current NBA Finals odds provided by BetMGM.
NBA Playoffs Bracket Watch:Which teams are moving up or down the standings?
NBA Power Rankings: NBA Finals Odds
1. Boston Celtics (+200)
The Celtics have dominated the NBA all season and will be the only team to finish with 60 wins (or more) this year. Boston leads the NBA with an average point differential of +11.7, but no other team has reached his double digits. Most recently, they defeated the Thunder, a team competing for the top seed in the West, by 35 points on Wednesday.
They are led in scoring by Jayson Tatum (27.2 points per game), Jaylen Brown (23.2 points) and Kristaps Porzingis (20.4 points). No other team has more than one player averaging over 20 points per game.
2. Denver Nuggets (+333)
The reigning NBA champions are tied for first in the Western Conference with six games remaining, and center Nikola Jokic is the favorite to win his third NBA MVP award in the past four years. The Serbian star is averaging 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.
With a strong regular season, great play from MVP and his supporting cast, and recent title-winning experience, it's no surprise that the Nuggets are the favorites to win.
T-3. Los Angeles Clippers (+750)
This year, the Clippers will look to bring in Russell Westbrook and James Harden and pair them with stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as they look to make another deep playoff run. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 season and was eliminated in the first round last year. The Clippers currently sit in fourth place in the West Division, but are likely out of contention for the Western Conference regular season title by 5.5 games with seven games remaining.
T-3. Milwaukee Bucks (+750)
The Bucks are in second place in the Eastern Conference, although they are 13 games behind the Celtics. In the two years since winning the title in 2021, Milwaukee has failed to return to the conference finals despite winning the Central Division for the fourth and fifth time in a row.
The team added guard Damian Lillard in the offseason, pairing him with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. After starting the season 30-13, the team fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin and replaced him with Doc Rivers. The Bucks are 17-16 in their last 33 games.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (+1600)
The rebuild appears to be over in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are one of the favorites to win the NBA title, despite missing the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. This is largely thanks to rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranks third in the NBA this year with an average of 30.3 points per game, and rookie standout Chet Holmgren.
Oklahoma City is one of three teams competing for first place in the West, one game behind the Timberwolves and Nuggets with six games remaining.
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6. Phoenix Suns (+2200)
7. Dallas Mavericks (+2500)
T-8. Minnesota Timberwolves (+3000)
T-8. Philadelphia 76ers (+3000)
10. Los Angeles Lakers (+3500)
T-11. Cleveland Cavaliers (+4000)
T-11. Miami Heat (+4000)
T-13. Golden State Warriors (+5000)
T-13. New York Knicks (+5000)
15. New Orleans Pelicans (+6600)
16. Sacramento Kings (+12500)
17. Indiana Pacers (+15000)
18. Orlando Magic (+20000)
19. Houston Rockets (+50000)
T-20. Atlanta Hawks (+100000)
T-20. Chicago Bulls (+100000)
When will the 2024 NBA Playoffs start?
The first round of the NBA Playoffs begins on April 20th. Depending on how quickly the first round pairings are determined, the conference semifinals will begin May 4-5 or May 6-7. The conference finals are scheduled to begin May 21-22, but could be moved to May 19-20 depending on the results of the conference semifinals.
The NBA Finals will begin on June 6th.
2024 NBA Playoffs:Brackets, standings, and latest playoff images for the upcoming playoffs.
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