Last year for 2024 NBA Playoff Best Ball, I started this thought exercise where I went team by team to document how I *think* I want to approach each team in my drafts. Do I want to be overweight, underweight or neutral on this particular team?
You wouldn’t think that is something you really need to do, but I’ve found in drafting thousands of Best Ball teams over the years, especially for Playoff Best Ball, that you can end up clicking some players or teams in drafts that don’t really jive with your plan. Or you may see some gaps in your thoughts about the teams when it comes to actual drafting if you lay it all out next to each other.
You may love certain teams, but the prices on their players make it very difficult to build strong teams around them. Those teams may have a positional weakness when paired together, or you may be forced into some teams you don’t love if you target certain player combinations.
So, with just a few games left in the regular season, here is my outline from walking through every viable playoff team and setting goals for how I want to handle them in my Playoff Best Ball portfolio.
*For additional NBA Playoff Best Ball strategy, check out this 2025 strategy piece for Underdog*
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Approaching Each Team for 2025 NBA Playoff Best Ball
Eastern Conference
Cavaliers – The Cavs are the 1 seed, 4 games ahead of the Celtics, yet they are still not the favorite in the East based on ADP. That’s understandable given the Celtics won the title last year, the Celtics are the betting favorite in the East, and the Celtics have just a tick higher Net Rating on the season. But the Cavs have definitely taken real strides to contender status this year. Evan Mobley has taken a big leap, Darius Garland has returned to form after his broken jaw ruined his season last year, and they have had some key additions and improvements on the roster (De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome). They split the season series with the Celtics 2-2, and I am operating as if they are the one other team in the East truly capable of making the finals. Verdict – Overweight
Celtics – There isn’t much else to say about the Celtics here, as they are my pick to make the Finals from the East, despite being the 2 seed. They have the 2nd best net rating in the NBA, and they’ve even seen real growth from last year’s team with players like Pritchard and Hauser really improving, and even some (more) growth from Jayson Tatum. The cherry on top for these drafts is that they can really cover every position on your roster fairly easily. Their top 6 has 2 guards, 2 wings and 2 bigs. Wing can be especially difficult to fill for some teams, so getting one of Tatum/Brown in the first round is quite nice. However, like last year, it’s probably going to be important to nail our secondary stacks that we might need to help these Celtics advance. Verdict – Overweight
Knicks – After being a big hit for us here last year with the market still holding onto its love for the 76ers (boy that looks rough right about now), I am sad to say that I just don’t see it with the Knicks this year. This is a really good team, there’s no denying that, but they also have some fatal flaws. Jalen Brunson is just getting back from a lengthy absence, and as incredible as the Brunson/Towns duo is on offense, the defense of that duo is extremely exploitable by good playoff basketball teams. They should be able to get by either the Pistons or Bucks in the first round, and we know Thibs will play these guys insane minutes, which could make them helpful advance rate pieces for our Celtics/Cavs, but that’s about it for me. Verdict – Underweight
Pacers – The truly massive hit for us last year was this Pacers team, with Siakam and Haliburton as my two highest owned players making a run to the Conference Finals and helping get 3 teams to the Underdog Finals. With the Cavs taking a leap, the Pacers are not quite that to that level this year, but I also don’t think they are an underweight team either. They can definitely be very useful advance rate pieces, and I don’t think it’s inconceivable they upset the Cavs in the 2nd round. This team is option 3 for me in the East, and they also fill each position quite nicely with solid producers. Verdict – Neutral
Bucks – This feels so similar to last year with the Bucks. I feel for Giannis, but this team is simply not good enough. Even if Dame comes back (which I’m very skeptical of), I don’t see how he’s healthy enough to be peak Dame. Middleton was outstanding in the playoffs last year, and Kuzma does not have that level to his game. Brook Lopez has taken a step back, and the rest of the role players are simply not enough to overtake the rest of the East. Verdict – Fade
Pistons – The Pistons are the best story in the NBA with their turnaround this year, but they are sadly not a real contender. Even as advance rate pieces, while they could technically be viable, I’d rather target Western Conference options (more on those in a minute) at those prices to give myself more outs in the pretty wide open West. Verdict – Fade
Play-In Teams (Magic, Hawks, Bulls, Heat) – Nope.
Western Conference
Thunder – Last year, I did not think the Thunder were quite ready to get to the Finals and opted to pick the Mavs after they made incredible additions around Luka and Kyrie to create a great playoff roster. But the Thunder added Hartenstein and Caruso, SGA took yet another leap, and even players like Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins have really improved. I will be picking the Thunder to make the finals because of these huge improvements, but it’s not as clear cut as the East. There are genuinely 8 teams in the West that I could see at least making a playoff run, if not the finals, and the Thunder do still need to prove that they can score consistently enough in a playoff setting without relying on SGA getting to the FT line. Verdict – Overweight
Rockets – The Rockets are probably the team I am most worried about burying me. They are an incredible defense (go watch what Amen Thompson did to Steph Curry the other night for an example), and they’ve locked in the 2 seed and home court advantage until the conference finals. But I feel similar about them as I did the Thunder last year. It’s a great team, but there are real shooting and overall offensive concerns, especially in the playoffs. They have the 2nd best net rating in the West, but there are several other teams very close to them with some rosters and stars I simply trust more at this point in the playoffs. Verdict – Underweight
Lakers – The Lakers might be the weirdest team to get a read on in the entire league, thanks to the biggest trade in NBA history at the deadline. The market loves them thanks to their star power with Luka and Bron, and there’s no denying this is a great team. Austin Reaves is a total stud as their 3rd “star”, but the rest of the roster has some real holes (no offense to Rui Hachimura, who has been great as well). They’ll essentially have to play “small ball” with no traditional center because Jaxson Hayes is too exploitable. I love small ball probably more than anyone, but you better have players who can stay in front of guys on the perimeter because you have no rim protection. The Lakers do not have that to the level you’d like. They’re *extremely* slow on both ends of the floor, and as incredible as Luka/Bron/Reaves are, it’s just a bit too much on the plates of Dorian Finney-Smith/Rui/Gabe Vincent and their role guys against an elite Western Conference for me, especially given the hefty prices of the Lakers in drafts. Verdict – Underweight
Nuggets – Well, as I was finishing writing this article, the bombshell dropped of the Nuggets firing both Head Coach Mike Malone and GM Calvin Booth. So, things seem to be going pretty well in Denver, eh? It’s hard to comprehend how badly they’ve bungled the prime of Nikola Jokic since their title, but that’s a convo for another day. This team clearly still has the ingredients to make a run, Jokic is just that good, but it’s hard not to be concerned about the house seemingly being on fire here. They’ve lost 4 in a row, Jamaal Murray’s health gets a bit more concerning by the day, and they are just a half game out of the 8 spot in the West. I’ll be honest, I can’t fade a Nikola Jokic team, and it’s not implausible that he’s just the best advance rate piece ever even if the Nuggets don’t make a run, but this team already had serious issues before the latest drama. Verdict – Underweight
Clippers – The Clippers are currently my highest owned team through 20 drafts on Underdog. So that probably tells you how I feel about them. But they now have the 3rd best net rating in the West and 5th best in the NBA. Kawhi Leonard is back and healthy (for now), and James Harden and Ivica Zubac are playing at All-NBA levels. With Harden, Kawhi, Zu and Norm Powell on the floor, this team is as good as anyone in the league, and they’re playing like it down the stretch, winning 4 in a row and 8 of 10. They are still extremely cheap in drafts, and they have a fantasy stud at each position. They fit as a potential finals team, secondary stack or one offs for advancement. Verdict – Overweight
Warriors – Since the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, the Warriors have lost just 6 games, two of which Steph Curry did not play. They are up to 10th in the NBA in net rating, and they have proven to be able to beat any Western Conference team on any night. They feel a little similar to the Lakers where we just don’t have a perfect feel for this new version since the huge trade given the small sample, but what we have seen has been a true contender to make the finals. They would not be my pick, but they are similar to the Clippers in a team I am very much targeting on just about any type of build. Verdict – Overweight
T’Wolves – Yet another Western Conference team I am targeting with frequency. They may currently be 7th in the West, but they are 6th in the NBA in net rating and another team playing better down the stretch. I rank them just behind the Warriors/Clippers in terms of targets, but this is another very real contender in the West. They inexplicably lost to the Wizards and Jazz without Anthony Edwards, otherwise we may be paying quite a bit more for this team, and they’ve even beaten OKC 2 out of 4 meetings this year. A nice perk is that they also have several cheap options at all positions that can produce for fantasy, including Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and even Jaden McDaniels. Verdict – Overweight
Grizzlies – This is where my love for the Western Conference starts to run out. The Grizzlies also just fired their coach right before the playoffs, and the vibes are just so off on this team. Ja Morant is defying the league with more gun related stupidity, Jaren Jackson Jr. still fouls like it’s going out of style, and they’re 3-7 over their last 10 (after winning 2 in a row). Even when not suspended for his finger runs, Ja has not been quite the peak version of himself this year, and that’s the real big concern with Memphis for the playoffs. He is shooting 30% from 3, and his overall offensive efficiency isn’t quite as good really dating back to the start of last season. They’re currently in the play-in, which could put them at risk of playing OKC in the first round. Verdict – Fade
