The NBA have four divisions of play that constitute the full NBA season for each year. The first is the normal season, which ends on April 10. Then there is the play-in tournament which occurs on April 12 and finishes three days later, on April 15.
The playoffs then commence the very next day, April 16, and the first round (comprising of 8 games in total), will be played on either 16 or 17 of April. The culmination of the season, the NBA Finals, will start on June 2.
There are 30 teams in the league altogether, but only 20 qualify for the play-in tournament or the playoffs. During the play-in tournament, four teams get eliminated, and only sixteen teams of out the 30 make it to the NBA playoffs.
Additionally, the two conferences (Eastern and Western) will generate eight teams each, so there will be a total of eight first-round matchups. There are no wildcard teams.
The layout of the NBA playoffs
The play-in tournament for the Western and Eastern conference will see seeds 7 to 10 play against each other. The winner of the match between seeds 7 and 8 move on to the playoffs. The matchwinner between seeds 9 and 10 will play against the loser in seeds 7 and 8.
NBA predictions for playoffs 2022
The season has already begun and many oddsmakers predict that the Milwaukee Bucks are going to clinch the championship. This is despite their loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Let’s see which other teams are capped to make it to the playoffs from both conferences.
Eastern Conference:
Apart from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, all the teams in the Eastern conference are not doing great. An instance that springs to mind is the Chicago Bulls, who have not only gone through a home loss to the Golden State Warriors (by 43 points) but they have only won 4 out of 10 games.
The Brooklyn Nets are feeling a big loss care of Kevin Durant, who has been relegated to the sidelines for an indefinite period with a sprained MCL- their last ten matches have recorded 4-6.
Even defending champions Milwaukee have lost six of eleven games previously.
It seems like everything is up in the air and very dependent on Durant’s situation. A huge event he is definitely going to miss is the All-Star weekend, despite being chosen as the Eastern Conference instead of LeBron James. The progress of his recovery could change things around, but for now, teams that look to have an excellent chance of making the playoffs include:
- Boston Celtics
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Chicago Bulls
Western Conference:
Many top teams in this conference have struggled as well; for example, the Warriors are 6-4 in their last ten games. Draymond Green had to be sidelined, and should he be able to get fit again, the team could do much better.
Recently, the Golden State have defeated both Dallas and Utah, which could change things in a big way for them. The Jazz had an encouraging start to the season but lost eight out of ten games.
Salt Lake has all their hopes pinned on Donovan Mitchell and centre Rudy Gobert to lead them to victory. These teams have the best odds of making the playoffs:
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Phoenix Suns
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Denver Nuggets
- Golden State Warriors
- Utah Jazz
- Dallas Mavericks
If you’re already thinking about the NBA Finals, experts speculate that the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns will go head-to-head in the season’s climax. Trade deals have seen the Heats acquire Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry- being as seasoned as he is means there’s opportunity for the Heats to make more aggressive plays.
Last year saw the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the finals, which will instil a fighting spirit and determination to win and get to the championships this year.
If you want to have a piece of the action and support your favorite teams (and potentially win some good money), then don’t be shy and place your bets with reputable and licensed online sportsbooks, such as DraftKings. It will add an element of fun and excitement to an already entertaining sport.
Story by Vinod Gill. Gill is a writer who specializes in writing content on sports and gaming subjects. He is a Digital Marketing Consultant, Blogger, and Co-Founder of FixTheLife.
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