2024 FTN NBA Power Rankings: Cavs Stay at 2, 76ers Running out of Time?

Welcome back to FTN Fantasy’s NBA Power Rankings!

We’re about a month into the 2024-2025 NBA season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers still haven’t lost a game. Surely, they must be ranked first, right? Actually, FTN still has them at No. 2, trailing only the Celtics, who our simulation model rates as a cut above the rest. While most power rankings overreact to recent performances, FTN’s model evaluates the season holistically, focusing on predicting future success. So if you’re here for hot takes about your favorite team winning it all because they went 3-0 last week, this isn’t that article. Even though the Cavaliers boast the league’s best record and deserve their No. 2 spot, we still have the reigning champs as the top team. And I think I speak for all our readers when I say we can’t wait to watch the Cavs and Celtics face off tomorrow night.

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.

But this isn’t just about rankings – it’s about giving you the edge. Whether you’re betting on the NBA or simply keeping tabs on your favorite team’s performance, our rankings provide key insights to help you make smarter decisions. Curious to see how we evaluate a specific matchup? Our NBA Betting Model is constantly updated with the latest data, and we highlight the best value picks in our NBA Bet Tracker.

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Key Takeaways

The Celtics Are in a League of Their Own

FTN’s betting model assigns offensive and defensive ratings to every team based on their expected performance. Right now, the Celtics are head and shoulders above the competition with an overall rating of 9.1. The next-best team, the Cavaliers, sit at 6.2. On offense, Boston stands out even more with a 6.9 rating; the next-closest is Dallas at 4.3. In other words, the Celtics are in a league of their own and are expected to be favorites in every game they play. This is reflected in the betting lines – they’re five-point favorites against the undefeated Cavaliers on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers’ Start is For Real

Cavs fans might be bummed we don’t have them at the top of the rankings, but let’s give credit where it’s due – Cleveland has clearly separated itself from the rest of the Eastern Conference. The next highest-ranked team in the conference is the Knicks, sitting at No. 7. If you told a Cavs fan before the season that they’d be a definitive top-two team in the East, they’d have taken it in a heartbeat. While their starting lineup has been key, I have to give a shoutout to Ty Jerome. After playing just two games last season, he’s now averaging a ridiculously efficient 10.7 PPG off the bench. Talk about a comeback!

It’s Now or Never For the 76ers

The 76ers land at No. 11 in our power rankings despite a rough 2-10 start. On the bright side, Jared McCain looks like the steal of the draft, and if this team can ever get fully healthy, they’re as dangerous as anyone. Our model still believes a healthy Sixers team is at least a playoff-caliber one. But here’s the catch – they’re already eight games under .500. At some point, they need to start winning games if they want a shot at the postseason. The injury excuse only goes so far.

The Model Does Not Agree With My Eyes About the Rockets

The Rockets are 10-4 and one of the hottest teams in the league right now. When I watch them, I see a deep roster and rising stars like Alperen Sengun making plays every night. They’ve racked up quality wins against the Knicks and Mavericks, and even took the Warriors to overtime. So I expected them to crack the top 10 in our rankings. But here’s the thing – our model predicts future performance, and it still views the Rockets as an average team. It’ll be interesting to see if Houston can maintain this early-season momentum or if the model’s skepticism proves accurate.

Check out some more interesting NBA Information on ftnfantasy.com

Conference:

Team	Conference	Record	Current Rank	Previous	Week Diff	Preseason	Pre Diff	Notes
Boston Celtics	EAST	11-3	1	1	-	1	-	They may not be undefeated, but this is still the team to beat. On a neutral court we still have them as favorites over Cleveland. Tomorrow's matchup will be fun to watch
Cleveland Cavaliers	EAST	15-0	2	2	-	8	+6	15-0 is truly impressive, and there are some impressive wins in this stretch. While we still like the Celtics more, Tuesday's matchup is extremely intreging between the two teams
Dallas Mavericks	WEST	7-7	3	4	+1	3	-	The model refuses to overreact, and that is what's happening here with Dallas. They've dealt with injuries en route to 7-7 to start the season, but the model believes Luka will start looking like an MVP again
Oklahoma City Thunder	WEST	11-3	4	8	+4	2	-2	Last week the model worried how this team would look without Chet, but the Thunder had an impressive 3-1 week in which their defense held two teams under 100 points. We are comfortably ranking OKC 4th, with lots of upside once they're healthy
Golden State Warriors	WEST	10-2	5	9	+4	16	+11	Another great week for GS, who only had two games but were both wins vs contending western conference teams. Our biggest mover since the preseason
Minnesota Timberwolves	WEST	8-6	6	5	-1	7	+1	It's been a weird start for the Timberwolves this season. Back-to-back losses to Portalnd is tough to swallow, but they followed it up with impressive wins over the Suns and Kings. The model is right not to overreact, as this is still a contender out west
New York Knicks	EAST	7-6	7	6	-1	9	+2	Another team that is hard to judge right now. Their 7-6 record isn't impressive, but it is clear that when this team clicks it's going to be a tough one to beat.
Sacramento Kings	WEST	8-6	8	3	-5	13	+5	The Kings fall this week after losing Derozan to injury. Fox did his best to carry the load, with an insane 109 points in his last two starts
Orlando Magic	EAST	8-6	9	15	+6	15	+6	The Magic seemed dead to rights when Paolo went out, but now they've won five straight games, Franz Wagner looks like an all star, and Jalen Suggs is another rising star
Denver Nuggets	WEST	7-5	10	10	-	5	-5	A couple of losses without Jokic this week, so we shouldn't overreact. But Jamal's Murray's decline is noteworthy
Philadelphia 76ers	EAST	2-10	11	19	+8	4	-7	The 76ers are getting healthy, so we still have them ranked highly. But Embiid needs to look better moving forward, and 2-10 is a deep hole to climb out of
Los Angeles Lakers	WEST	9-4	12	12	-	12	-	This feels a bit low considering their 9-4 record, but the Lakers are still thin outside of their top guys. If Dalton Knecht continues to produce then the Lakers will move up these rankings
Miami Heat	EAST	5-7	13	17	+4	20	+7	What can you make of this Heat team? They're difficult to beat when they're at full strength, but they also are a few steps below the league's top contenders. 13th feels fair
Houston Rockets	WEST	10-4	14	14	-	19	+5	The 10-4 Rockets have moved up from our preseason rank of 19, but is that enough of a boost? They've now won five straight, though all those wins were vs weak opponents.
Milwaukee Bucks	EAST	4-9	15	11	-4	10	-5	The Bucks won two straight for the first time this season, but then fell to the Hornets on Saturday. While time isn't running out with a 4-9 record, this roster may be too shallow to seriously compete this season
Phoenix Suns	WEST	9-5	16	7	-9	6	-10	The injuries have really put a damper on an otherwise great start to the season for Phoenix. They just need to tread water until Durant and Beal return
Indiana Pacers	EAST	6-7	17	13	-4	18	+1	The Pacers certainly wanted to be better than 6-7, but at this point the model sees the Pacers as merely average.
Los Angeles Clippers	WEST	7-7	18	16	-2	11	-7	They were able to avoid an 0-4 week with a Sunday night win against the Jazz, but this team needs more out of James Harden and Norman Powell if they're going to make the playoffs
Atlanta Hawks	EAST	6-8	19	18	-1	21	+2	This is a transitional year for Atlanta, but they seem to have found legit pieces in Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels
Memphis Grizzlies	WEST	8-6	20	22	+2	17	-3	The Grizzlies are the lowest ranked team that is above .500, so it's understandable that Grizzlies fans will take issue with this ranking. But the reality is until Ja returns and this team gets healthy, they are playing a bunch of replacement level players a ton of minutes
San Antonio Spurs	WEST	6-8	21	21	-	22	+1	The Spurs might not make the playoffs, but Victor Wembanyama is already a top-10 player in the league, and maybe top-5
Brooklyn Nets	EAST	5-9	22	20	-2	26	+4	The Nets are bad but not as bad as they were expected to be. They have a top-10 offense, and their rookie head coach has his Nets playing hard on both sides of the ball
Detroit Pistons	EAST	7-8	23	26	+3	24	+1	After last year's debacle, the Pistons have to be happy about a 7-8 start. They went 3-1 this week, including an impressive OT win over Miami.
New Orleans Pelicans	WEST	4-10	24	24	-	14	-10	Trey Murphy may be back, but this team is still absolutely devestated by injuries. It's looking like a lost season unless guys get healthy fast
Chicago Bulls	EAST	5-9	25	25	-	25	-	The Bulls gave up 144 and 143 points in their alst two games. They're actually playing well on offense, but the defense is a problem
Charlotte Hornets	EAST	5-8	26	28	+2	28	+2	Lamelo is gong to be an all star if he's healthy and is a true building block for Charlotte. Outside of him and Maybe Brandon Miller, this team has a lot of work to do
Utah Jazz	WEST	3-10	27	27	-	23	-4	Outside of an impressive win vs Dallas, there is not much reason for optimism in Utah right now
Toronto Raptors	EAST	2-12	28	23	-5	27	-1	We don't know when Quickely and Barnes will get back on the court, but it'll probably be too late to make any sort of noise this season
Portland Trail Blazers	WEST	6-8	29	29	-	30	+1	A 6-8 record is nothing to sneeze at, especially as they're on a 3-game winning streak, but we don't believe this is going to last
Washington Wizards	EAST	2-10	30	30	-	29	-1	They have some interesting young pieces, but i'm not sure they have any future all stars
	Conference