Welcome back, NBA! Professional basketball returns to our lives on Tuesday night with the reigning champion Boston Celtics taking on the new-look New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves. We'll get to those matchups in a bit, but we still have some time to add some last-minute futures to the portfolio.
Let's beat the buzzer with our favorite win total and favorite title future for the 2024-25 NBA season.
Last-minute NBA futures
Cleveland Cavaliers over 48.5 wins (-115 DraftKings)
We're high on the Cavaliers in 2024, at least in the regular season. Cleveland won 48 games last year while battling injuries the entire way. Donovan Mitchell missed 27 games, Darius Garland missed 25 and Evan Mobley missed 32. You have to imagine the Cavs will have better injury luck this year.
With Mobley and Jarrett Allen healthy, this can be the best defensive team in the NBA. The Cavaliers also upgraded at head coach by replacing J.B Bickerstaff with Kenny Atkinson. Cleveland should improve by at least one win.
Oklahoma City Thunder to win the championship (+650 DK)
We don't see any value in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics holding as big favorites to win the title, so we're rolling with the Thunder for our only title future entering the season.
Oklahoma City won 57 games, ranked second in the NBA in net rating and earned the No. 1 seed in the loaded Western Conference last year, and it improved over the offseason. The Thunder's biggest issue last season was their rebounding, so they added 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein to help out Chet Holmgren down low. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only going to improve after contending for the MVP award last year, and Jalen Williams is poised to make a huge jump with Josh Giddey out of town.
The Thunder have all the pieces to make a championship run in 2024-25. They have two confident closers who can create their own shots in Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, two lockdown on-ball defenders in Alex Caruso and Luguentz Dort and two effective rim protectors in Hartenstein and Holmgren. OKC is our favorite title future entering the season.
In the news ...
Ravens dominate Bucs; Cardinals beat Chargers on last-second field goal — The Baltimore Ravens took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 41-31, on "Monday Night Football," and it wasn't as close as the final score indicates. Lamar Jackson threw a career-high five touchdown passes, while Derrick Henry rumbled for another 169 yards on the ground. In the "MNF" nightcap, Chad Ryland drilled a game-winning field goal as time expired to give the Arizona Cardinals a 17-15 win against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 3-4 Cardinals are now +285 to make the playoffs.
Chris Godwin most likely out for the season after suffering ankle injury — The Buccaneers lost more than just a football game on Monday night. On the final drive of the game, Godwin went down with an ankle injury so gruesome that ESPN didn't show a replay. The star wide receiver, who leads the NFL in catches this season (50), likely suffered a dislocated ankle. Godwin will have surgery this week and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Tampa Bay is +175 to win the NFC South.
Jayden Daniels has a chance to play in Week 8; Tua Tagovailoa won't wear a Guardian Cap — In NFL quarterback news, Daniels avoided a long-term injury to his ribs and is considered week-to-week. The talented rookie has a chance to suit up against the Chicago Bears this Sunday. As for Tagovailoa, he's eligible to return to the field this week after suffering another concussion in Week 2. On Tuesday, the Miami Dolphins QB told reporters that he doesn't plan on wearing a Guardian Cap when he returns. The Commanders are +2.5 against the Bears, and the Dolphins are -3 against the Cardinals.
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