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NBA Playoffs 2022-23: Format, key dates, predictions and more

By Ian Levy

Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images
Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images /
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The race for the NBA Playoffs begins on Opening Night and often doesn’t end until the last day of the regular season. Here’s everything you need to know.

The NBA season hasn’t even begun yet and some teams are already thinking about playoff positioning and potential matchups. After a wild offseason, there are nearly a dozen teams with legitimate championship aspirations (11 if you ask FiveThirtyEight) and everyone will be looking to separate themselves early and often.

There is a long season ahead but it’s never to soon to start prepping for the NBA Playoffs (as long as you’re not a fan of the Spurs or Jazz this season). Here’s everything you need to know.

How many teams make the NBA playoffs?

In the current incarnation of the league, 16 teams make the playoffs with eight from each conference. They are seeded according to record (using the tie-breakers here) with the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds being determined by the results of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Since 2016, winning a division was no longer factored into playoff seeding.

What is the format of the NBA playoffs?

NBA Playoffs Bracket: The NBA playoff bracket is divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences and first-round matchups are seeded No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5. In each series. The winner of the No. 1 vs No. 8 matchup players the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup in the second round.

NBA Playoffs Rounds: The bracket creates four rounds — the first round, Conference Semifinals, Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals is the earliest that two teams from opposing conferences could face each other.

NBA Playoffs Series: Since 2003, every series is played in a best-of-seven format. Prior to that, the first-round series were played in a best-of-five format.

NBA Playoffs homecourt advantage: In each series, the higher seed is given the homecourt advantage except the NBA Finals, where homecourt advantage is decided by record, regardless of seeding. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, which means the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7.

When do the NBA playoffs start?

The first round of the NBA playoffs begin on April 15, 2022. The schedule for the successive rounds is as follows:

  • Conference Semifinals begin May 1-2, with a possible move-up date of April 28-29
  • Conference Finals begin May 16-17, with a possible move-up date of May 14-15
  • NBA Finals begin June 1

What is the NBA Play-In Tournament?

The NBA Play-in Tournament is a new wrinkle that debuted for the 2019-20 season, giving an extra two teams in each conference a chance at making the playoffs. The idea was to de-incentivize tanking and increase the stakes for late-season games for more teams.

What is the format of the NBA Play-In Tournament?

After the regular season ends, the No. 10 seed and No. 9 seed and the No. 8 seed and No. 7 in each conference play. The winner of the game between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds gets the No. 7 in that conference. The winner of the game between the No. 10 and No. 9 seeds then plays the loser of the game between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds. The winner of that game ends up as the No. 8 seed.

When do the NBA Finals start?

The NBA Finals begin on June 1, 2023. Game 7, if necessary, will be played on June 18. The schedule for the rest of the series is as follows:

  • NBA Finals Game 1 — June 1, 2023
  • NBA Finals Game 2 — June 4, 2023
  • NBA Finals Game 3 — June 7, 2023
  • NBA Finals Game 4 — June 9, 2023
  • NBA Finals Game 5 (if necessary) — June 12, 2023
  • NBA Finals Game 6 (if necessary) — June 15, 2023
  • NBA Finals Game 7 (if necessary) — June 18, 2023

NBA Playoff 2022-23 predictions

Subjective predictions are an imprecise art at best and largely random noise at worst. Hopefully, these picks merely trend toward being imprecise. Here’s how I see each team finishing in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Western Conference standings and seeds

  1. Denver
  2. Minnesota
  3. Memphis
  4. Golden State
  5. Phoenix
  6. Clippers
  7. Dallas
  8. New Orleans
  9. Lakers
  10. Sacramento
  11. Portland
  12. Oklahoma City
  13. Houston
  14. Utah
  15. San Antonio

Eastern Conference standings and seeds

  1. Philadelphia
  2. Milwaukee
  3. Cleveland
  4. Toronto
  5. Boston
  6. Atlanta
  7. Chicago
  8. Miami
  9. Brooklyn
  10. Charlotte
  11. Washington
  12. Orlando
  13. New York
  14. Indiana
  15. Detroit

Who’s going to win the NBA Finals in 2022-23?

Last year’s NBA Finalists, the Warriors and Celtics, are both extremely intriguing picks with rosters that are arguably better than last season’s. However, both teams have been dealing with internal chaos — the suspension of Celtics’ head coach Ime Udoka and the Warriors’ practice altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.

Who knows how much of an affect those situations will still have months from now when the playoffs start but I’m going to use them as an excuse to imagine a more fun scenario (at least for me). With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. healthy and a few tweaks to their bench, I think the Nuggets could be the best team in the West and ride Nikola Jokic right into the NBA Finals. In the East, I’ll take a miraculously healthy Milwaukee Bucks team having enough support around Giannis Antetokounmpo to get through the East.

Bucks and Nuggets in the Finals, Jokic vs. Giannis. Nuggets in 7.

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