Best Outsiders To Make The Playoffs – Odds, Tips & Predictions

The NBA season is nearing its halfway point, and while plenty of teams have all but locked themselves into the playoffs already, there are still a number of spots up for grabs in both the Western and the Eastern Conference. Over the past few weeks, there have been a couple of big moves in each Conference, with the Pistons and Kings in particular playing some quality basketball to put themselves in the mix, while confidence in a few other teams has fallen following some indifferent form. There are plenty of ways to attack this market, but rather than hone in on the favourites, below we look to find the best value teams to make it through to the 2025 playoffs.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks have quietly gone about compiling a pretty good team, and as we near the halfway point of the season they look like clearly one of the best eight teams in the Eastern Conference. At the time of writing they are on a little bit of a down streak, but Jalen Johnson’s absence has been a major reason for that – he missed four out of the last five games, and the Hawks lost three of them by big margins, with the sole victory coming by just three points against the Jazz. With him back, they have a well-balanced starting lineup with him alongside Trae Young and Dyson Daniels in the backcourt, while their bench is full of talent in the form of Deandre Hunter, Onyeka Okungwu and Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Hawks may very well struggle to break into what looks like a pretty clear top six in the East, but even if they do have to go through the Play-In Tournament to get to the playoffs they should be good enough to get there. They should be good enough to get into the 7 vs 8 playoff game, giving them two opportunities to make it through to the postseason proper. If they don’t get to that game then the odds currently on offer will obviously not look quite so enticing, but given their talent relative to a couple of teams above them, they should be able to work their way a spot or two up the standings and give themselves a really good shot at making it through to the playoffs. 

What brings them here? The Hawks have been a depressingly mediocre team for a few years with minimal scope for improvement, but the growth of Jalen Johnson and Deandre Hunter to name a couple and the surprisingly high level play from Dyson Daniels has turned them into a well-balanced and dangerous team. 

What could hold them back? The Hawks might struggle to finish top six in the East, and while they will likely be favoured to make it through the Play-In Tournament, it only takes a loss or two for seasons to be ended in that tournament. 

Injury report. As mentioned, Jalen Johnson has missed a few games through injury in January but won’t be out for all that long.

Bet on the Hawks to make the playoffs @ $1.55 with PlayUp

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers were supposed to be potential championship contenders this season, so the position that they currently find themselves is not exactly one they will be thrilled with. Injury has, of course, played a key role in that, with Joel Embiid struggling to get on the floor at all, Paul George also missing a large chunk of time and Tyrese Maxey missing a few games too. Embiid’s injury woes continue and may very well for the remainder of the season, which certainly limits their ceiling, but even without him – or with him in the team sporadically – they should be good enough to make it through to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Already they have been working their way up the standings – after starting the season 3-14, they won 12 of their next 20 games to work their way up to 11th and only a couple of games out of the Play-In Tournament spots. They are not world beaters at the minute by any means, but they are certainly better than at least a couple of teams above them and should be able to continue to ascend up the standings. They will be doing everything they can to ensure that Embiid is at least healthy enough to get on the floor once they theoretically reach the Play-In Tournament, and with a full team they would be favoured over most teams they could potentially come across in it. At close to even money odds with NBA betting sites, they look like pretty decent value to make this season’s playoffs. 

What brings them here? The Sixers created an unexpected Big Two last season when Maxey improved out of sight, and the addition of George this offseason gave them a really potent trio in their starting lineup. Injuries have limited their potential, but this team still should be making the postseason. 

What could hold them back? Injuries. These have been a major problem all season and Embiid not playing or being particularly healthy when he does sets them back a long way, and his continued absence does not help. Any injury to George or Maxey on top of that would really put them in a hole.  

Injury report. Embiid is the main problem, with a foot injury his current ailment. Former Rookie of the Year favourite Jared McCain is out for the season with a knee injury, while elder statesmen Kyle Lowry and Andre Drummond have also had injury concerns.

Bet on the Sixers to make the playoffs @ $1.85 with PlayUp

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons dramatic improvement this season has been plain to see for some time, but they are continuing to develop in leaps and bounds. They passed the 14 wins that they managed all last season in just 33 games this time around, and followed that up with five more wins in their next six games to get their record above .500 and jump into the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference. Cade Cunningham is leading from the front, but he’s not the only reason for their growth. Jaden Ivey, too, was coming on nicely this season before he suffered a fractured leg, while Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr have been surprisingly productive shooters for them. Ausar Thompson has talent in spades and should only get better as the season wears on and he gets a bit more continuity than he has had so far this season, while the undeniably talented Jalen Duren has actually taken a step backwards in his sophomore year so far – if he gets it together, it could take this team up yet another level. How far they can really go with the roster as it is currently constructed remains questionable, but they are clearly already more than capable of making it through to the postseason. In fact, at the time of writing they have an 8-2 record in their last ten games and sit in 8th spot in the Eastern Conference – a pretty good set of circumstances for a team that is paying more than $3 to make the playoffs. They certainly won’t continue on that 8-2 pace forever, but they have shown they are capable of competing with most teams in the Eastern Conference and will put themselves right in the mix to play in the postseason. 

What brings them here? Being at the bottom of the East for such a long time has given the Pistons plenty of opportunity to stockpile young talent, while a couple of older additions have played better than expected too. 

What could hold them back? Inexperience. Though they do have some older players in their rotation, the Pistons are by and large led by young players without much experience in games of consequence. 

Injury report. Jaden Ivey fractured his fibula right around New Year’s Eve, and will likely miss up to two months. He’s set to be re-evaluated in around early February.

Bet on the Pistons to make the playoffs @ $3.20 with PlayUp

Phoenix Suns

The Suns have made a bit of a habit of disappointing everyone over the years, and so far season 2024-25 has not been all that different. Their offensive talent is pretty plain to see, with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant leading the way and Bradley Beal a very capable third fiddle, but cohesion and defence have been issues for the roster as it is currently constructed and .500 record for a team this talented around the halfway mark of the season would suggest that nothing much has changed. But while they have not set the world on fire, that talent remains undeniable and there is plenty of scope for improvement. Booker has been one of the more consistently high-level players in the league for years, but his shooting numbers are significantly and uncharacteristically down so far this season. That might not sound like a good thing, but it does provide a pretty obvious point of improvement for this team given how important a player he is, and if he recaptures his normal level of play it will go a long way towards this team having a better second half of the year than they have a first. Even as it stands, they are locked in a logjam of teams in the deep Western Conference fighting for spots in the bottom half of the playoffs. And while there is no doubting that the other teams with whom they are fighting for those spots are really solid outfits, the Suns have more talent than plenty of them. Talent does not always equate to results and that has certainly been the case for Phoenix with this team, but if competition for spots gets tight later in the season – as it very likely will – the likes of Durant and Booker will be two of the players most capable of rising to the challenge. At close to even money odds to play in the postseason with betting sites, the Suns are good value to climb up the standings as the season wears on.

What brings them here? The Suns have looked like a potential contender ever since they added Durant to a team already containing Booker, while the addition of Beal theoretically lifted their ceiling even higher.

What could hold them back? Cohesion. The Suns have really good individual players, but at times they appear to take it in turns playing isolation basketball rather than consistently sharing the ball around. 

Injury report. The Suns have a pretty clean bill of health at the time of writing.

Bet on the Suns to make the playoffs @ $2.00 with PlayUp

Sacramento Kings

It’s been a bit of a strange season for the Kings. After adding DeMar DeRozan to a team already containing De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, as well as Malik Monk off the bench, they were hoping to do better than the 46 wins they managed last season. A run of losses put paid to that idea though, and coach Mike Brown was promptly sent packing – much to the chagrin of most of the NBA community. It certainly seemed like a rash decision from a franchise not exactly renowned for making sound choices, but at least in the short-term it appears to have had a positive impact. The Kings lost their first game under interim coach Doug Christie to take their record to 13-19, but they went on to win their next seven to take their record above .500. That wasn’t exactly an easy stretch of games, either – in that period they knocked off the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Warriors, Heat, and most impressively, the Celtics by 17 points, with that run dragging them from seemingly rank long shots to make the postseason in a competitive Western Conference, to right around even money. The Kings certainly look, on paper, like a team that should be good enough to at the very least put themselves in the mix to make the playoffs, and with this run of form that appears to be exactly what they are doing. Of course, it is a long season, and whether this hot stretch is a flash in the pan or a sign of a legitimate turnaround remains to be seen. But they are just a game from 6th spot, and yet are paying well over $2 to make the playoffs with PlayUp. Granted they are also just a game from 12th, such is the closeness of the Western Conference, but the Kings are just about the hottest team in the league and the odds have probably not yet adjusted to this run of form. They won’t keep winning at this current rate all season, but given what they have shown they are capable of they look like some of the better value in this market.

What brings them here? The Kings have a pretty decent team but have been struggling to take that extra step in the West in the past couple of seasons. But they appear reinvigorated under a new head coach and are looking very much like a playoff team over the past few weeks.

What could hold them back? While they certainly look like a playoff team at the moment, the Kings did not really for the first few months of the season. The big question mark surrounding them at the minute is whether they can maintain the rage, or whether they will fall back to the early season form which saw them a few games out of the postseason spots.

Injury report. The Kings have a pretty clean bill of health at the minute, with a Malik Monk groin complain the main concern – though it may not even cause him to miss games.

Bet on the Kings to make the playoffs @ $2.30 with PlayUp

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs were always going to improve this season, courtesy largely due to one very large man named Victor Wembanyama. The extent to which they have done so, however, has surprised many. After winning just 22 games last season, they are set to surpass that number likely by the end of January. Wembanyama has, as predicted, been a major reason for that. The most hyped young player since LeBron James, Wemby is already a top ten player in the league just halfway through his second season and potentially even bordering on top five. He’s the most impactful defender in the game by a long way, and his offence is only getting better. One player does not make a team, and while he certainly makes an incredible difference, there is more to this roster than just their dominant Frenchman. Outside of Wemby they don’t exactly have another superstar, but they do have a lot of decent NBA-level players – Devin Vassell is very capable, Harrison Barnes provides the same thing every night, Chris Paul has given them a very valuable dose of experience and Jeremy Sochan is a quirky added piece on their roster. Stephon Castle was for a time Rookie of the Year favourite and looks set for a long career in the league, while Keldon Johnson is capable of providing plenty of punch off the bench. They’ve quickly turned from a bottom side in the Western Conference to one that has been hovering around .500 all season and is right in the playoff mix, and though they are back in 12th at the time of writing, the close nature of the West means they are just three games back from 5th. That makes the $5.50 on offer for them to make the playoffs extremely tempting. Of course, they have to beat at least a couple of talented teams like the Suns and Kings, or defensive powerhouses like the Clippers and Timberwolves, in order to get there. But we are nearly halfway through the season, and the Spurs are not showing any signs of slowing down just yet. With one of the most dominant players in the league leading the charge and getting better with every game, they will likely remain right around the Play-In spots all season, and don’t need to play all that much better than they have been to make it through to the postseason at long odds.

What brings them here? When the Spurs got the number one pick in the 2023 draft, it completely changed the future prospects for this historically dominant franchise. Guys like Vassell, Paul and Barnes have big roles to play too, but Wembanyama is the reason this team is in the playoff mix.

What could hold them back? Unlike a lot of other playoff-caliber teams in the NBA, the Spurs are very top-heavy, and a lot of responsibility falls on the very young shoulders of Victor Wembanyama.

Injury report. Sochan has had some back issues this season and remains on the injury list with that problem.

Bet on the San Antonio Spurs to make the playoffs @ $5.50 with PlayUp

This is always a fun market, with lots of different teams capable of making the playoffs in each Conference this far out from the postseason – particularly in the very competitive West. But it’s on the other side of the country where our best value bet comes from. The Eastern Conference appears to have a pretty clear top six, all of whom should make the playoffs and avoid the Play-In Tournament, leaving a couple of spots for teams having to go the long way to the postseason. The favourites to get in that way are the Heat and Hawks, but there are problems at Miami and they look a little too short, particularly with the Pistons chasing them down at rapid speed. Detroit have won eight of their last ten games at the time of writing and still have a couple of players capable of performing better than they are. Having already put themselves into the Play-In spots, with the form they are in they are every chance of working their way further up the standings and potentially even giving themselves two bites at the cherry in the Play-In Tournament. Of course, it’s a long season and they are a young team, but at over $3 they look like one of the better value prospects to make the 2025 NBA playoffs.