This season is bound to be exciting for NBA fans everywhere. Here’s my predictions for what road teams will head down this season.
The 2025 NBA playoffs are just around the corner! some teams are heating up for a final push….. And some teams are slipping. Here are the top five teams I think are on the rise and five teams that are slipping. This totally-not-subjective list will give you guys some teams to watch coming into playoff time.
Teams on the Rise
Honorable Mention: Rockets, Knicks
The Blazers??? (I know what I’m talking about)
I do not care if this is a sizzling hot take. I’m right, you’re wrong, and this team has been on fire lately. They’ve gone from a bottom-five team to a team pushing the play-in. It’s all thanks to the teamwork and great team play from this young roster of Anfernee Simons, Toumani Camara, Shadeon Sharpe (my king), Deni Avidja, and others keeping the team in a steady consistent flow. Expect this team to make great improvements with the end of the season and offseason looming.
The New-and-Improved Golden State Warriors
As soon as I saw Jimmy Butler join the Warriors, I cried in my room for a little bit, as I knew I’d have to deal with this team a little longer. To add insult to this, Curry has found new life and has been absolutely on fire as of recently. This team always finds a way to stay competitive. Hopefully, they again fall into being a bottom-tier team, but that day is not today. If I know the Warriors well, I see them at worst a second-round exit.
The Detroit Pistons? (I know, hard to believe)
I have no clue how they did it. A team that was fighting not to break the all-time loss record is now fighting for a play-in spot. A very quick turnaround indeed, but most of it is thanks to Cade Cunningham. He has been the heart and soul of this team, and now with players like Dennis Schroder, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duran, and others helping out, I see them going in a great direction.
Cleveland Cavaliers
As I type this, the Cavaliers are on a 16-game win streak. That’s insane. The duo of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell is deadly, not even considering how dominant Evan Mobley has been on defense. You have a pseudo-superstar with a contender for Defensive Player of the Year. While I think they may crumble come playoffs, there’s no way to disregard how good they have become. I consider them the most well-run team in the league at this point.
The Los Angeles Lakers
How could I not put this team at one? They pulled off maybe the best trade in NBA history, getting a young superstar in Luka Doncic and, in the same sweep, getting rid of the injury-prone Anthony Davis. Don’t get me wrong, I miss AD truly, but Luka Doncic can’t be passed on. They have immediately put him to great use with Lebron, and they look genuinely unstoppable. I have them having an actual shot at the championship. Lakers in five.
The Sinkers
Dishonorable Mention: Wizards, Jazz
The Sacramento Kings
What a sad turnaround this season is for them. I cant put them too low, as Sabonis is still doing very well, but even still, this team is a shell of what it was a year ago. De’Aaron Fox brought life to this team. With him gone, the heart and soul seem to be fading and now they are being reduced to a mid-team. I don’t expect much from this team, maybe an early playoff exit at most.
UPDATE: As of March 21st, Sabonis got injured and will miss at minimum of ten days.
The Milwaukee Bucks
You may yell at me for putting this team here, because yes they are still easily in the playoff range, but just hear me out. This team should be doing WAY better. They have Giannis who somehow is still being underrated, and Dame who may not be in his prime but is still lights-out. Yet they struggle to find their footing and win in games. I’m not saying that by any means they are bad, but I will say I’m disappointed with the caliber of players they have. Also for those wondering why I didn’t put the Suns, it’s simply because I like them more.
The Extinguished Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler was essentially the only reason they would ever win games. Hard to believe they were in the finals a couple years back. With Jimmy Buckets traded away for a Pringles can, there is pretty much no team left. There’s no motivation, no life, and little to no effort in recent games played. Expect more of this, with maybe a small push until the end of the year. I want this team to succeed so badly, but that day isn’t today.
The (Almost) Dumbest Team Ever (76ers)
I don’t understand who sits at the front office and makes these decisions. Maybe Homer Simpson. I like this team, so it almost feels like a personal attack to watch them try and run a team. Why in the world would you give Paul George, a player that genuinely cannot stay healthy for more than a weekend, a FOUR-YEAR, 212-MILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACT?? I’m genuinely baffled. It didn’t work at all. You have Joel Embiid, who is amazing but also a glass cannon with PG, and look, they’re both on the bench. I feel for Maxey.
The Actual Dumbest Team Ever (Dallas Mavericks)
Wow. I’m amazed this team can even function. When you have your fans PROTESTING, you should know you made a mistake. Coming off a finals run, you trade away your growing superstar who adores his team for AD, a player who cannot stay on the court for longer than a week. It’s genuinely sad. Immediately, it ended up going so badly for them. Kyrie tears his ACL, ending his season, and to follow it up, AD gets a strain, and now he’s out for a good minute. The Mavericks pretty much have their own sector in the hospital. They’re doing awful in games, and you could honestly attribute most of this to the Luka trade. It’s a sad sight to see over in Texas.
