The 2024 NBA playoffs don’t technically begin until Saturday but several teams will still be fighting to get into the postseason when the NBA play-in tournament concludes on Friday. The Boston Celtics finished with the best record in basketball at 64-18 and now they’re just waiting to see who their first-round matchup will be. It’s been an unbelievable season for the Celtics, but can you trust a team that hasn’t won a title since 2008 as +175 favorites to win the NBA championship and -200 favorites to win the East?
Elsewhere in the 2024 NBA futures, the Denver Nuggets are +125 favorites to win the West and go back to the NBA Finals. They’re followed by the Clippers (+600), Thunder (+625) and Mavericks (+700) in the Western Conference championship odds. So who wins each conference, and how can you find value throughout the 2024 NBA playoffs? Before making any basketball picks or 2024 NBA futures bets, be sure to see the latest NBA predictions from SportsLine basketball expert Bruce Marshall.
An in-demand guest on numerous sports talk radio and TV shows across the country, Marshall’s vast array of editorial work has been featured in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the New York Post and many other outlets. He has won various handicapping titles and also is working on several book projects. Marshall has crushed his NBA picks this season for SportsLine members, entering the postseason on a 153-117 run that has returned nearly $2,500 for $100 players. Anybody following is way up.
Now, he has revealed his top 2024 NBA futures bets. You can head to SportsLine to see them.
Top 2024 NBA futures bets
One of Marshall’s top 2024 NBA futures picks: He’s backing the Knicks (+1400) to win the Eastern Conference. After a come-from-behind win in the fourth quarter against the Bulls on the final day of the regular season, the Knicks edged out the Bucks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York enters the 2024 NBA playoffs as one of the hottest teams in basketball.
New York has won its last five games despite receiving news last week that all-star forward Julius Randle required season-ending shoulder surgery. However, Jalen Brunson has kicked it into high gear since the realization that Randle’s season was done, averaging 39.4 points and 7.6 assists during the Knicks’ current winning streak.
Brunson finished the season averaging 28.7 points and 6.7 assists (both career-highs) and has established himself as one of the NBA’s best point guards. OG Anunoby also gives Tom Thibodeau the defensive stopper that his schemes desperately require, and those are both big reasons why Marshall sees value in the Knicks even without Randle on the court. See the rest of Marshall’s NBA futures bets at SportsLine.
How to place 2024 NBA futures bets
Marshall has revealed five other NBA futures picks. They include multiple series upset picks and two other futures that return 40-1 or higher. You can see all of Marshall’s top 2024 NBA futures picks here.