NBA Playoff Picture: Postseason Bracket, Series Schedules, NBA Title Odds and More
Getty Images. Pictured (from top left): Julius Randle of the New York, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers, James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets, LeBron James of the LA Lakers, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
In the basketball world, madness is typically reserved for March, but the NBA has tried its absolute darnedest to take that mantle this year. After a chaotic regular season and a Play-In tournament that gave us even more pandemonium, we have finally reached the NBA Playoffs.
We can expect even more uncertainty with five teams in this year’s field that haven’t made the playoffs in at least three seasons (Suns, Knicks, Hawks, Wizards, Grizzlies).
The changes in format has given some teams an added rest advantage (more about that here) with the top six seeds on each side getting a full week of rest before the start of the playoffs.
Below you can find the updated playoffs bracket for each conference, series prices for each matchup, breakdowns for every game on the day’s schedule and updated NBA title odds.
Here are the first-round playoff matchups in each conference and the price for each team to win the series ahead of Game 1:
Eastern Conference Playoff Bracket
Western Conference Playoff Bracket
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NBA Playoffs Odds and Schedule
Saturday’s Games
East No. 6 vs. East No. 3
The No. 6 seed Miami Heat face the No. 3 seed Milwaukee Bucks as an underdog Saturday afternoon in a rematch of last season’s thrilling five-game upset. The Bucks enter Game 1 as 5-point favorites.
West No. 5 vs. West No. 4
The No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks will face the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers in the second matchup on Saturday night. These two led off the first round of last year’s playoffs, too, in a strange but memorable series. The Clippers enter Game 1 as -5.5-point favorites.
East. No. 7 vs. East No. 2
The No. 2 seed Brooklyn Nets are currently the favorites to win the NBA championship, and start their road to the title in Round 1 against the underperforming No. 7 seed Boston Celtics. This will be just the ninth game this season with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the court together. The Nets enter Game 1 as 8-point favorites.
West No. 6 vs. West No. 3
This matchup between the Trail Blazers and Nuggets could be the most exciting first-round matchup. The teams are so close, some books have them both at minus money to win the series. The Nuggets enter Game 1 as short 1-point favorites.
NBA Title Odds
The Nets have arguably the most star power of all the teams in the postseason and they find themselves in a familiar position before the start of the playoffs as the favorites to win it all.
The Lakers and Grizzlies made it out of the play-in and into the playoffs in the Western Conference, but they are on opposite ends of the board in terms of title odds.
Despite drawing the No. 7 seed in the West, the Lakers have the second-best odds to win the NBA Finals. Their odds dropped from +425 before the play-in to +325 ahead of the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the rest of the NBA title odds before the start of the NBA Playoffs via BetMGM.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Nets | +240 |
| Lakers | +375 |
| Clippers | +600 |
| 76ers | +750 |
| Jazz | +750 |
| Bucks | +900 |
| Suns | +1800 |
| Nuggets | +3000 |
| Heat | +3500 |
| Mavericks | +4000 |
| Trail Blazers | +5000 |
| Hawks | +6600 |
| Celtics | +8000 |
| Knicks | +8000 |
| Wizards | +10000 |
| Grizzlies | +10000 |
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