NBA Playoff Bracket Set with Weekend Tipoff
The 2025 NBA Playoff bracket is officially set following the conclusion of the play-in tournament, with first-round action tipping off this weekend. The Warriors, Magic, Heat, and Grizzlies secured the final four playoff berths through the play-in format, completing the 16-team field that will compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy over the next two months.
The postseason journey begins with a four-game slate on Saturday featuring the Pacers-Bucks, Nuggets-Clippers, Knicks-Pistons, and Lakers-Timberwolves series openers. Sunday’s schedule includes Thunder-Grizzlies, Celtics-Magic, Cavaliers-Heat, and Warriors-Rockets first-round matchups.
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Eastern Conference: Chalk Predictions with Pistons as Potential Spoilers
The Eastern Conference playoff picture features the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, who defeated both the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament to secure their playoff berth. Despite Miami’s playoff pedigree, analysts overwhelmingly favor Cleveland in this matchup.
“The Heat have done commendable work to pull out of their post-Jimmy-trade tailspin and win two play-in games on the road to make the postseason proper,” writes Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports. “When it comes to lining them up against this Cavs team, though, all that commendable work will buy them is a gentleman’s sweep.”
The defending champion Boston Celtics face the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic in a series that most experts predict will be relatively brief. Yahoo’s Ben Rohrbach notes that “the Celtics have too much firepower,” questioning how the Magic will generate enough offense to compete with Boston’s elite talent and depth.
While the top two seeds are heavily favored, the third-seeded New York Knicks face a more challenging matchup against the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons. This series features the most divided expert opinions, with six of seven Yahoo analysts picking the Knicks but acknowledging Detroit’s significant improvement.
“The Pistons have been every bit as good as the Knicks for four solid months now — better over the past couple!” Devine observes, highlighting Detroit’s dramatic turnaround from last season. Dan Titus provides the lone Pistons prediction, writing: “It’s Detroit vs. Everybody on the road to claim its first postseason series win since 2008.”
Western Conference: Warriors-Rockets Highlights Unpredictable Bracket
The Western Conference bracket features several compelling matchups that could produce upsets, most notably the second-seeded Houston Rockets facing the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors. Despite Houston’s higher seeding, many experts favor the Warriors to advance.
“Are we sleeping on the Rockets?” questions Dan Titus. “The Warriors, the second seventh-seeded team favored in a first-round series since 1988, bring unmatched experience and a championship pedigree. Then they added Jimmy Butler.”
CBS Sports notes this trend, reporting that “the seventh-seeded and battled-tested Warriors are favored over the second-seeded but relatively inexperienced Rockets,” highlighting the growing importance of playoff experience over regular season success.
The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder face the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a series that appears lopsided on paper. Yahoo’s panel unanimously predicts an OKC victory, with most anticipating a five-game series. Rohrbach summarizes the sentiment: “Give the Grizzlies a game, just to be nice. But OKC is more concerned with the more serious teams it will face down the road in the West.”
Star Power on Display in Lakers-Wolves, Nuggets-Clippers
The Lakers-Timberwolves matchup features the much-anticipated playoff debut of the LeBron James-Luka Doncic pairing. Six of seven Yahoo analysts predict Los Angeles will prevail, though most expect a competitive series.
“Luka Dončić owned the Timberwolves as a member of the Mavericks in last season’s Western Conference finals, and now he has LeBron James at his side,” notes Rohrbach. “Together they can solve Minnesota’s defense. Barely.”
Meanwhile, the defending champion Nuggets face the Clippers in what CBS Sports describes as a matchup that “could go either way with Nikola Jokić on one side and Kawhi Leonard on the other.” This 4-5 matchup splits expert opinions almost evenly, with John Hollinger of The Athletic predicting a Clippers victory in six games.
“This should be fun!” Hollinger writes, highlighting that the series features “four players who, at least at one point, had a claim on the mantle of ‘best player in the league.'”
As teams prepare for Saturday’s tipoff, the NBA’s evolving landscape suggests this postseason could feature more upsets than traditional playoff brackets. Recent trends show lower seeds winning at historically high rates, with Hollinger noting that “26 such teams win series in the past five years, while only three of the 10 No. 1 seeds in that span have made it to the NBA Finals.”
This increasing unpredictability sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting 2025 NBA Playoff run filled with compelling storylines and potential surprises.
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