NBA Playoff Bracket 2015: Full Review of Postseason Picture, Matchups and Odds
More than any other sport, the NBA regular season largely serves as a time-filler before the playoffs arrive.
Over half the league receives a postseason ticket. And when has anyone ever needed both hands to count the credible championship contenders?
Knowing they'd earn a spot, most squads have spent months conserving their energy for the playoffs. So now that the NBA season is over, NBA postseason is finally upon us.
NBA Playoff Teams
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks | 1 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2 | Houston Rockets |
| 3 | Chicago Bulls | 3 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 4 | Toronto Raptors | 4 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 5 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 6 | Milwaukee Bucks | 6 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 7 | Boston Celtics | 7 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 8 | Brooklyn Nets | 8 | New Orleans Pelicans |
Round 1 Matchups
| Atlanta Hawks | Brooklyn Nets | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Boston Celtics | |
| Chicago Bulls | Milwaukee Bucks | |
| Toronto Raptors | Washington Wizards | |
| Golden State Warriors | New Orleans Pelicans | |
| Houston Rockets | Dallas Mavericks | |
| Los Angeles Clippers | San Antonio Spurs | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Portland Trail Blazers |
Championship Odds
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 11-5 |
| Golden State Warriors | 11-5 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 7-2 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 12-1 |
| Chicago Bulls | 12-1 |
| Houston Rockets | 16-1 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 18-1 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 28-1 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 40-1 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 40-1 |
| Toronto Raptors | 50-1 |
| Washington Wizards | 75-1 |
| Boston Celtics | 150-1 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 150-1 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 200-1 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 250-1 |
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
Best First-Round Matchup: Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs
Would anyone object to the loser replacing someone from the Eastern Conference? It's unfair that either the Los Angeles Clippers or San Antonio Spurs—two top-five title contenders entering the postseason—will get kicked out after just one round.
If the NBA playoffs worked like March Madness, the Clippers and Spurs would be repackaged as the Western Conference's No. 2 and 3 seeds. Instead, the Spurs went tumbling down to No. 6 after losing their season finale to the New Orleans Pelicans, who earned the conference's final spot with the victory.
After the Golden State Warriors—who won't meet the winner until a possible Western Conference Finals showdown—boast a better scoring margin than Los Angeles (6.6) and San Antonio (6.2). Both clubs won nine of their final 10 games to conclude the regular season.
ESPN's Basketball Power Index, via ESPN Stats & Info, supports the Clippers and Spurs both as elite, under-seeded squads.
Despite missing Blake Griffin for part of the season, the Clippers sported the league's most efficient offense at 109.8 points per 100 possessions. Yet the Spurs placed sixth in offensive rating while also harnessing the third-best defensive rating.
This matchup is especially bad news for DeAndre Jordan, whose 39.7 free-throw percentage creates a massive target Gregg Popovich will exploit. During their last meeting, the Spurs sent Jordan to the charity strike 28 times, and he made just 10 during a narrow 119-15 victory.
Jordan, who also led the NBA with 15.0 rebounds per game and 5.4 defensive win shares, told the Associated Press' Greg Beacham, via NBA.com, that he's not worried about San Antonio intentionally fouling him.
"It's happened all season, and I feel like a lot of the games that they've done it, we've won," Jordan said. "I'm not really worried about it. When it does happen, which I know it will, I'll just go to the line and shoot the basketball. It's not something that I'm dreading, but I'm prepared for it. I'm ready."
Directing him to the line certainly beats letting Chris Paul find the big man down low. Mostly on the strength of dunks, Jordan shoots 71.2 percent from within 10 feet, according to NBA.com.
Making their 18th straight playoff appearance, the Spurs didn't seem to stand a strong chance of securing their first back-to-back titles until recently. Spending most of the year nursing injuries and playing possum, they went 21-4 down since suffering a four-game winning streak after the All-Star break.
All but two triumphs came by double digits.
Through those two months of constant winning, Kawhi Leonard emerged as the team's undisputed star on both ends. Already respected as a defensive wizard following last year's championship heroics against LeBron James, the 23-year-old averaged 17.9 points on a 52.1 field-goal percentage after the break.
According to 82games.com, opposing small forwards scored 20.6 points per game against the Clippers with a 51.1 effective field-goal percentage. Last year's NBA Finals MVP will prove essential to avoiding an unceremonious early exit.
Either way, someone will get stripped away from the playoff picture too soon.
Advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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