30/1, 22/1 & 16/1 Tips for the 2025 NBA Playoffs

After a record-breaking regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the favourites to win the NBA title in June. This year’s playoffs get underway on Saturday, with the Thunder leading the betting at 17/10.

Oklahoma are as short as 5/7 to win a packed Western Conference, so there’s room to oppose the favourites thanks to a raft of contenders behind them in the standings.

The defending champion Boston Celtics are 19/10 to retain their title, but no side has held on to the trophy since the Golden State Warriors in 2018. With the NBA tweaking rules to level the playing field between teams, there are a few tempting prices which appeal heading into the postseason.

Odds correct with bet365 as of April 15th 2025

NBA Outright Winner Predictions

Cleveland Cavaliers at 6/1 with bet365

Available boosted to 7/1 on bet365’s site

While this hasn’t been a great year for the Eastern Conference, the top two sides in the division look like serious contenders. The Celtics are odds-on for a finals return, but they trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final standings.

As maligned as the East is, one of their sides will be heading into June’s NBA finals. Whittling down that field is quite easy, as only the Cavs and Celtics won more than 53% of their clashes against teams with winning records.

The Cavs won 28 of 39 meetings with the league’s strongest sides, which was the second-best rate in the division. New coach Kenny Atkinson has helped transform the team, improving chemistry and leading them to the best offensive rating across the NBA in the regular season.

Cleveland has a Defensive Player of the Year contender in Evan Mobley, while Atkinson has helped mould some impressive three-point shooters further down the roster. The mid-season addition of De’Andre Hunter has been fantastic for the Cavs, giving them the kind of wing defender all championship-calibre teams have.

Atkinson is on track to be named Coach of the Year, while his side will have home advantage in every series in the East. The Cavs also proved themselves against the West, with a 23-7 record. This is a side that has produced 16, 15, and 12-game win streaks already this season. With a boosted price of 7/1 available, they’re being underestimated to win 16 postseason games and seal the title.

LA Clippers each-way at 30/1 with bet365

Every year the LA Clippers put themselves in the title picture, before injuries wipe out their chances. However, losing Paul George last summer eased their defensive concerns, allowing them to put a deeper roster around Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

Harden’s playoff reputation isn’t great, but he’s a terrifying proposition as the second-scorer and lead creator on a team. The return of Leonard – a two-game Finals MVP – has lifted the Clippers into the elite tier of NBA sides. They won 25 of the 36 games he appeared in, closing with a nine-game winning streak when he featured.

The value here comes from the Clippers’ tough route to the finals, but this is the first year they’ve welcomed that challenge, rather than jockeying for a softer matchup. Their confidence is high after winning 18 of their final 21 games, including a thrilling final day clash with the much-fancied Golden State Warriors.

Leonard played 47 minutes in that overtime win, which displayed the Clippers’ depth and the flow they’ve gotten into offensively. While Kawhi missed the majority of the season, the Clippers still finished with the third-best defensive rating in the league. With two high-scoring stars and a supporting cast of strong defenders, they’re an excellent each-way bet at 30/1.

Timberwolves each-way to win Western Conference at 16/1 with bet365

While I’m backing the Clippers to win the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves are a good value play. They’re priced at 7/2 in the betting to make the conference finals. However, we can get a bit of an edge by taking them each way in the conference outright betting.

The each-way terms in the outright market payout at 1/2 of the odds for the conference runners-up, effectively offering 8/1 on a bet that is a 7/2 chance elsewhere. I’m happy to accept the increased stake required, because this Minnesota side is capable of causing a shock.

The Timberwolves made last season’s conference finals, spearheaded by Anthony Edwards. The hype around his playoff run has died down, but his comments after their 2024 playoff exit around improving his conditioning and focus for this postseason suggest opponents should be worried.

Despite the negativity around Edwards, he finished the regular season leading the league in three-pointers made. His advanced metrics and efficiency have taken a real leap year-on-year; he’s quietly stayed at the supernova level that blew opponents away a year ago.

Minnesota finished the regular season sixth in defensive rating. The aftershocks of Karl-Anthony Towns’ trade to New York lingered over the first half of their season, but they won 17 of their final 21 games to head into the playoffs in stellar form.

I still have concerns about the roster overall, but the likes of the Warriors and Lakers are good matchups for a Timberwolves lineup that will tower over those opponents. They’re playoff proven as a unit, they’ve continued to be defensively impressive, and they have a superstar heading towards his peak. A championship may be out of their reach, but it’s hard to ignore a price of 8/1 on them winning two seven-game series.

22/1 First Round Correct Score Double

• New York Knicks to win 4-2 vs Detroit Pistons
• Indiana Pacers to win 4-3 vs Milwaukee Bucks

Finally, the two confirmed Eastern Conference matchups could prove to be quite entertaining, given that none of the sides are truly convincing. Last year, the Indiana Pacers saw off two injury-ravaged opponents to make the conference finals, but they dragged those series out much longer than they had to.

The expectation is that the Bucks will be without Damian Lillard for the rest of the season, so third-seed Indiana can progress over a shallow Bucks’ rotation. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo will push them all the way and Indiana’s ability to drop games while performing well should push that series all the way.

The Detroit Pistons are getting some upset buzz against the New York Knicks, but they won just 12 of 39 meetings with sides that had winning records. The Pistons posed some problems for the Knicks during the regular season, but the Knicks’ experience is backed to send them through in six games.

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