by Andrea Triunfo4. December 2024
NFL, the overview for the final rush of the season with a view to the playoffs. NHL, Winnipeg slips and Minnesota takes advantage. NBA, the NBA Cup results and the controversy between Houston’s Tari Eason and a fan. Let’s see all the details.
NFL 2024: the playoff grid is outlined
There are five days left until the end of the NFL regular season, and the playoff picture finally takes shape. Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are arithmetically certain of qualification, and, in Buffalo’s case, also of divisional victory. In the AFC East, in fact, the Bills lead with a record of 10-2followed by Miami with 5-7, NY Jets with 3-9 and New England Patriots with 3-10. A fairly undisputed dominance.
In the AFC North, Pittsburgh is at the top with a 9-3 record, then Baltimore at 8-5, Cincinnati at 4-8 and Cleveland at 3-9. The Steelers have a two-game advantage and the advantage of the head-to-head match, but everything is still open. Also pay attention to the AFC South, with Houston first with a record of 8-5, followed by Indianapolis at 6-7, then Tennessee at 3-9 and Jacksonville at 2-10.
NFL NHL NBA 2024, match predictions and odds
In the AFC West, Kansas City leads with an 11-1 record, confident enough to win the divisionfollowed by the Los Angeles Chargers with 8-4, the Denver Broncos with 8-5 and bottom Las Vegas with 2-10. Currently the advantage of playing at home is held by the division leaders, and therefore Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Houston and Kansas City, with Baltimore, LA Chargers and Denver being the three best runners-up who would qualify for the playoffs today.
In the NFC, however, no one has yet secured the pass for the postseason, with Detroit, Philadelphia and Minnesota being the main favorites to qualify in the coming weeks. In the NFC East, Philadelphia (10-2) has a good margin on Washington (8-5), while Dallas (5-7) and NY Giants (2-10) are decidedly more distant.
In the NFC North, Detroit (11-1) is trailed by Minnesota (10-2) and the direct clash on the last day it could be decisive; then there is Green Bay (9-3) and finally Chicago (4-8). In the NFC West, all four teams are still in the running to win the division; Seattle is currently on top (7-5), but Arizona and LA Rams, both with 6 wins and 6 losses, are behind, and San Francisco (5-7) can still have its say.
In the NFC South for now the winner is Atlanta (6-6), tied with Tampa Bay who however has the tiebreak against them. New Orleans (4-8) and Carolina (3-9) now seem too distant to attempt to qualify. The Wild Card situation sees Minnesota, Green Bay and Washington currently qualified, but the NFC is definitely competitive this year compared to its “rival” AFC.
NHL 2024-25: Minnesota puts the turbo on and passes Winnipeg
The Minnesota Wild take advantage of Winnipeg’s bad moment to overtake the Canadian team in the standings and momentarily climb to the top of the Western Central. Led by Russian starlet Kirill Kaprizovcurrently the league’s leading scorer with 39 points tied with Carolina’s Martin Necas and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, the Wild are proving to be a very tricky team to face.
The Bruins, after firing coach Jim Montgomery, recovered slightly, returning close to the top of the table, also taking advantage of a few too many defeats by Florida and Toronto, although still ahead on points. Auston Matthews is officially back from his shoulder injuryimmediately contributing to the Maple Leafs’ cause.
A three-way clash instead between New Jersey, Washington and Carolina, who all find themselves within three points and who promptly overtake and counter-overtake each other. The Capitals are still without Ovechkin but they are demonstrating surprising solidity which is leading them to compete for important positions even without a key player like the Russian. For night games, we recommend Toronto’s victory priced at 1.98 against Nashville, and the Over 5.5 goals scored odds at 1.86 between Chicago and Boston, both available on NetBet*.
NBA 2024-25: NBA Cup quarterfinals outlined
During the night you are the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup have been definedthe competition parallel to the regular season which began more than a month ago. The cup board reads i following pairingsafter the final results of the evening: Orlando – Milwaukee, New York – Atlanta, Oklahoma City – Dallas, Houston – Golden State.
The trend of the last few days instead sees the Mavericks on the rise, with Luka Doncic fully returned after his wrist injury, and having won the last five matches played. Now Dallas is back in the positions that count to the detriment of Golden State, fresh from five KOs in a row. In the East, Milwaukee continues its climb, reaching seven victories in a row and confirming itself as one of the hottest teams in recent weeks.
A very tight match took place between Houston and Sacramento, but what made the news was not the verdict on the pitch but what happened at the end of the match. Houston coach Udoka was ejected along with Alperen Sengun for an argument with the referees, but Rockets winger Tari Eason, while returning to the locker room tunnel, stopped to answer a Kings fan, also trying to climb over the barrier and reach the stands, evoking the memory of Ron Artest in the famous “Malice at The Palace”. An event that is now being monitored by the NBA, which could also sanction the player.
*Quotes subject to change
