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 and 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 brackets for each conference with the updated series score for each matchup. For current series prices, click here:
Eastern Conference Playoff Bracket
Western Conference Playoff Bracket
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Wednesday's Schedule
East No. 8 vs. East No. 1
the 76ers took care of business and lead 1-0 in their first-round playoff series, hoping to build off their Game 1 victory and maintaining home court. There hasn’t been much adjustment from the opening game of this series as oddsmakers have the Sixers listed as 8-point favorites ahead of Game 2.
East No. 5 vs. East No. 4
The Knicks are looking to avenge their Game 1 loss to the Hawks and leave the Garden with a split on Wednesday. Trae Young was incredible in the opener and will try to replicate that performance, but the Knicks are 2-point favorite at home in Game 2.
West No. 8 vs. West No. 1
Game 1 of the Grizzlies-Jazz series was one of the most shocking results of the postseason so far, especially with Donovan Mitchell being sideline before the game. The Grizzlies took home court and have the 1-0 series lead, but the Jazz are 9-point favorites entering Game 2.
NBA Title Odds
May 26 Update: The Lakers' win against the Suns in Game 2 has moved them back to the No. 2 spot on the title odds board. The Mavericks, who won two road games in Los Angeles against the Clippers, moved from 35-1 before Game 2 to 18-1. The Clippers' odds have dropped from +700 to 12-1 with the back-to-back losses.
May 25 Update: The Bucks now have the second-best odds to win the NBA title after going up 2-0 in their first round series against the Heat.
May 24 Update: The Mavericks, Trail Blazers, Hawks and Grizzlies each saw their odds to win the title shorten after huge road wins over the weekend.
The Grizzlies saw the largest shift, going from 100-1 to 80-1. The Hawks went from 66-1 to 50-1 after a thriller at Madison Square Garden. The Trail Blazers moved from 50-1 to 35-1 and the Mavs are down to 35-1 after entering the Playoffs at 40-1 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 via BetMGM.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Nets | +200 |
| Lakers | +450 |
| Bucks | +550 |
| 76ers | +650 |
| Jazz | +700 |
| Clippers | +1200 |
| Mavericks | +1800 |
| Suns | +2500 |
| Trail Blazers | +5000 |
| Nuggets | +5000 |
| Hawks | +8000 |
| Grizzlies | +10000 |
| Knicks | +12500 |
| Heat | +15000 |
| Wizards | +20000 |
| Celtics | +25000 |
