NBA Playoffs 2015: Final Team Standings, Title Odds and Bracket Predictions
The Brooklyn Nets and the New Orleans Pelicans claimed their respective conference's last two playoff spots Wednesday night, and now the NBA postseason is ready to begin on April 18.
The Nets defeated the Orlando Magic 101-88 in their regular-season finale, while the Indiana Pacers fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 95-83. It was a bounce-back performance for Brooklyn after getting blown out by the Chicago Bulls in its previous game.
In a must-win game, the Pelicans stopped the San Antonio Spurs' 11-game win streak to clinch a postseason spot with a 108-103 victory. The Pels had to win this matchup, as the Oklahoma City Thunder kept the pressure on by blowing out the Minnesota Timberwolves 138-113.
Here's a look at the final standings for this year's postseason teams:
| Seed | Team | Wins | Losses |
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks | 60 | 22 |
| 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 53 | 29 |
| 3 | Chicago Bulls | 50 | 32 |
| 4 | Toronto Raptors | 49 | 33 |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 46 | 36 |
| 6 | Milwaukee Bucks | 41 | 41 |
| 7 | Boston Celtics | 40 | 42 |
| 8 | Brooklyn Nets | 38 | 44 |
| Seed | Team | Wins | Losses |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 67 | 15 |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 56 | 26 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Clippers | 56 | 26 |
| 4 | Portland Trail Blazers | 51 | 31 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 55 | 27 |
| 6 | San Antonio Spurs | 55 | 27 |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 |
| 8 | New Orleans Pelicans | 45 | 37 |
With the playoff teams now set, Odds Shark has calculated the title odds for each remaining team:
| Atlanta | +1400 |
| Boston | +15000 |
| Brooklyn | +30000 |
| Chicago | +1600 |
| Cleveland | +250 |
| Dallas | +5000 |
| Golden State | +250 |
| Houston | +2800 |
| L.A. Clippers | +1600 |
| Memphis | +2800 |
| Milwaukee | +20000 |
| New Orleans | +20000 |
| Oklahoma City | +6600 |
| Portland | +4500 |
| San Antonio | +225 |
| Toronto | +6600 |
| Washington | +10000 |
Here's a look at each first-round playoff matchup, including series predictions. Just below the table is a closer look at predictions for three of the opening round's most intriguing series.
| Matchup | Predictions |
| No. 1 Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 8 Brooklyn Nets | Hawks in five |
| No. 4 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards | Wizards in seven |
| No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 7 Boston Celtics | Cavaliers in four |
| No. 3 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks | Bulls in five |
| Matchup | Predictions |
| No .1 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans | Warriors in five |
| No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies | Grizzlies in five |
| No. 2 Houston Rockets vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks | Rockets in five |
| No, 3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 6 San Antonio Spurs | Spurs in seven |
Bulls Too Deep For Bucks
By defeating the Atlanta Hawks 91-85 on Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls locked up the third playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That win earned the Bulls a date with the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Chicago is battling injuries—as usual—but this team is still too deep for the Bucks.
The emergence of rookie Nikola Mirotic as a legitimate scoring threat in the fourth quarter should make the Bulls' attack tough to handle. Here's a look at Mirotic's proficiency in the final quarter, provided by Synergy Sports Tech:
If the Bulls buckle down defensively, they could finish the series in five games.
The intriguing thing about this series is gauging how healthy the Bulls will be once the series is over. If the team can emerge victorious without prolonged injuries to Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler, Mirotic, Mike Dunleavy or Joakim Noah, it can advance deep into the postseason.
Spurs Will Outlast Clippers
The Spurs are the lower seed, but you won't be able to tell by the time this series is over. This is a really unfortunate draw for the Los Angeles Clippers. Aside from the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers could probably handle any other Western Conference team.
The combination of the Spurs' ball movement and Tim Duncan's low-post defense should keep DeAndre Jordan in foul trouble, and the Clippers don't have a defensive answer for Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard's ability to knock down the three and attack the basket will give the Clips issues all series long.
Expect a strong series from Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, but it won't be enough to overcome the defending champions.
Wizards Will Win Evenly Matched Series
The Toronto Raptors won on the final day of the regular season to put some pressure on the Bulls for the East's third spot, but the team's defense has been erratic down the stretch. That's a concern heading into the postseason.
The Raptors actually gave up 114 and 117 points, respectively, in back-to-back games against the Nets and Boston Celtics earlier in the month. Defense is still the basis of winning in the NBA, and Washington is a better defensive team than the Raps, as they are much more capable of getting defensive stops in key situations.
This Wizards' core won a playoff series last year, but the Raps couldn't manage that, losing to Brooklyn in seven games to open last year's playoffs. Washington has the edge in experience and poise. It will win one of the best first-round series we see this year.
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