NBA Playoffs 2022-23: Bracket, Teams, Predictions, Format & More

The NBA Playoffs start today Here’s everything you need to know.

The NBA Playoffs kick off today with the Nets taking on the Sixers in the first game of the day. Over the next 2 months, plenty of storylines will develop in the quest to crown a new NBA champion.

How many teams make the NBA playoffs?

In the current incarnation of the league, 16 teams make the playoffs with eight teams from each conference. The top-six teams qualify automatically for the playoffs while two teams qualified from the play-in tournament which concluded yesterday night.

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 was 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.

Teams in the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs

The Following are the first-round matchups for the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs:

Eastern Conference:

(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs (8) Miami Heat

(2) Boston Celtics vs (7) Atlanta Hawks

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs (6) Brooklyn Nets

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (5) New York Knicks

Western Conference:

(1) Denver Nuggets vs (8) Minnesota Timberwolves

(2) Memphis Grizzlies vs (7) Los Angeles Lakers

(3) Sacramento Kings vs (6) Golden State Warriors

(4) Phoenix Suns vs (5) Los Angeles Clippers

When does each round of the NBA playoffs start?

The first round of the NBA playoffs begin today. 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

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 Playoffs 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 playoff matchup playing out:

Eastern Conference:

First Round:

(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs (8) Miami Heat: Bucks in 4 Games
(2) Boston Celtics vs (7) Atlanta Hawks: Celtics in 4
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs (6) Brooklyn Nets: 76ers in 5
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (5) New York Knicks: Cavaliers in 6

Second Round:

(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs (4) Cleveland Cavaliers: Bucks in 5
(2) Boston Celtics vs (3) Philadelphia 76ers: Celtics in 6

Conference Final:

(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs (2) Boston Celtics: Celtics in 7

Western Conference:

First Round:

(1) Denver Nuggets vs (8) Minnesota Timberwolves: Nuggets in 5
(2) Memphis Grizzlies vs (7) Los Angeles Lakers: Grizzlies in 6
(3) Sacramento Kings vs (6) Golden State Warriors: Warriors in 7
(4) Phoenix Suns vs (5) Los Angeles Clippers: Suns in 6

Second Round:

Denver Nuggets vs (4) Phoenix Suns: Suns in 6
Memphis Grizzlies vs (6) Golden State Warriors: Grizzlies in 7

Conference Final:

(2) Memphis Grizzlies vs (4) Phoenix Suns: Suns in 6

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

As per my prediction, the Finals will be played between the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics will be led by the all-star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who will be surrounded by an elite cast of role players as part of one of the deepest teams in the league. The Celtics, who made the Finals last year, finished second in the Eastern Conference and will go past the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks as per my prediction. The Bucks have the home advantage over the Celtics however for the second straight year, I have Celtics beating the Bucks in a 7-game series.

The Phoenix Suns, who played in the NBA finals two years ago, have one of the best starting lineups with the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Ayton as part of the same team. I expect this starstudded team to go through a challenging Western Conference which will include the LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and Memphis Grizzlies.

In the NBA Finals, I expect the Boston Celtics to prevail in a competitive 6-game series with Jayson Tatum taking home Finals MVP honors.