Best NBA Bets Today – Monday, March 3, 2025
Sam Choudhury
Welcome back to FTN Fantasy’s NBA Power Rankings!
The Cleveland Cavaliers stole the headlines this week with a statement win over the Boston Celtics, erasing a 25-3 deficit to pull off an impressive comeback. It only counts as one win in the standings, but the victory was a defining moment for the Cavs, proof that they can take down the reigning Eastern Conference champions. As of today, Cleveland holds a commanding 7.5-game lead over Boston, making it increasingly likely that the road to the NBA Finals in the East will run through Northeast Ohio.
The playoff picture in the East is beginning to take shape, with multiple games separating the top four teams and a five-game gap between the 6 and 7 seeds. One team that deserves a special shoutout: the Detroit Pistons. Ranked just 24th in our preseason power rankings, Pistons fans would have gladly taken a shot at the play-in tournament. Instead, they’ve shattered expectations, currently sitting sixth in the East — just one game behind the Bucks for the 4-seed and home-court advantage in the first round. Their dominant 20-point win over the Celtics this week was just the latest highlight in what has already been a remarkable season. He may not win, but J.B. Bickerstaff has more than earned Coach of the Year consideration.
While the East is starting to settle, the Western Conference remains complete chaos. The Thunder have all but locked up the top seed, but after that? It’s a free-for-all. The Lakers have extended their winning streak to six games and currently sit alone in second place, yet they’re only 1.5 games ahead of the fifth-seeded Rockets. The Clippers, currently sixth, are just a half-game ahead of the 10th-seeded Mavericks. And then there’s the Suns, who have completely collapsed, going 2-8 in their last 10 games and looking destined to miss the play-in tournament altogether.
FTN’s model reflects just how tight the West is. The sixth- through 10th-ranked teams in our power ratings all come from the Western Conference, with razor-thin margins separating them. Despite the Lakers’ recent hot streak, our model still rates the Warriors and Grizzlies slightly higher, while the Nuggets and Thunder stand out as a tier above the rest. Oklahoma City, in particular, has been dominant, we rate them a full two points per 100 possessions better than the second-ranked Cavaliers. For context, that’s a bigger gap than the one separating the sixth-ranked Warriors from the 10th-ranked Clippers.
Every Monday, we bring you an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the league with our exclusive power rankings, powered by the FTN NBA Betting Model. These rankings adjust for recent results, injuries and news, giving you a dynamic view of the NBA’s shifting landscape. We also track which teams are trending up – and which are trending down.
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Key Takeaways
The Cavs Make a Statement in Boston
The Cavaliers pulled off a massive win in Boston last week, erasing a 25-3 deficit to stun the Celtics in front of their home crowd. Given their eight-game winning streak, featuring quality victories over the Knicks, Grizzlies, Magic and Timberwolves, the Cavs didn’t need this win to validate their standing atop the East. But they fought back anyway, proving they’re more than capable of going into Boston and winning a high-stakes game. With these teams seemingly on a collision course for the Eastern Conference Finals, this victory could serve as a major confidence boost if Cleveland finds itself trailing in a future playoff matchup.
The Knicks Remain a Fringe Contender After a Good Week
Seven days ago, it felt like the sky was falling in New York. Back-to-back blowout losses to Boston and Cleveland raised questions about whether the Knicks could compete against elite teams. But after a perfect 3-0 week, including an impressive road win over Memphis, a fringe top-tier team, the narrative has shifted once again. While their 0-7 record against the league’s top three teams remains a concern, the Knicks have held their own against other high-level opponents, boasting a 4-0 record against Denver and Memphis. With a 40-20 record, the ninth-best 60-game start in franchise history, the Knicks still have work to do to close the gap on Boston and Cleveland, but they aren’t as far off as some may think.
How Many True Contenders Are in the West?
One of last week’s hottest sports debates was how many true contenders exist in the Western Conference. Some argued there’s only one, while others saw as many as seven or eight. Using FTN’s model as a baseline, there are two ways to approach this question.
The first answer? The Thunder are in a league of their own. Our model rates them 11.5 points per 100 possessions better than an average team, more than double the next-best team in the West, the Nuggets (5.2). If you’re basing the definition of “contender” strictly on the numbers, the Thunder stand alone.
But that logic ignores how deep the West truly is. Even as the best team, winning three straight playoff series is never easy, especially in a conference this stacked. There are seven teams that our model rates well above average, and some of them could be early-round matchups for the Thunder. If OKC has to go through Golden State in the first round, Denver in the second, and the Lakers in the conference finals, they could blink and find themselves eliminated before ever reaching the Finals.
So, how many contenders are in the West? There’s no clear-cut number, but it’s definitely more than one.
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