NBA Playoff Picture 2025 for East, West Bracket After Magic, Warriors Advance
Welcome to the playoffs, Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors.
Orlando and Golden State clinched the No. 7 seed in their respective conferences with victories in Tuesday's play-in tournament action. The Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 in the Eastern Conference, while the Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 in the Western Conference.
Atlanta and Memphis are still alive, though, and will face the winners of Wednesday's play-in tournament games to determine the No. 8 seed in each conference.
The Hawks will face either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat, while the Grizzlies will face either the Sacramento Kings or Dallas Mavericks.
With that as a backdrop, here is what the first-round looks like at this point in each conference.
Eastern Conference
1 of 2
Opening Matchups
1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 8. TBD
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Orlando Magic
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Detroit Pistons
4. Indiana Pacers vs. 5. Milwaukee Bucks
While all four Eastern Conference series could provide fireworks with the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers looking to prove themselves, the reigning champion Boston Celtics taking the floor and the upstart Detroit Pistons attempting to challenge the New York Knicks, the showdown between the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks stands out.
After all, it was the Pacers who eliminated the Bucks in the first round last season.
Injuries were a storyline in that one, as Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined for the entire series. Damian Lillard also missed some time, and Milwaukee was unable to keep pace without its two stars together.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, injuries are again a concern. They announced Lillard will not be available for the start of the playoffs because of deep vein thrombosis in his right calf that has sidelined him since March 18.
But they will have Antetokounmpo as they look for revenge against an Indiana team that has its eyes on another deep run after advancing to last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
Look for plenty of points as the two sides battle in what promises to be a thrilling series.
Western Conference
2 of 2
Opening Matchups
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. TBD
2. Houston Rockets vs. 7. Golden State Warriors
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Los Angeles Clippers
The Western Conference is loaded with star power and teams that surely feel they can win a title.
Nowhere is that more apparent than a first-round matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
At this point, the Lakers will likely view anything other than a championship as a major disappointment after pairing LeBron James with Luka Dončić. The shocking midseason trade took the league by storm, and now opponents will have to deal with arguably the best two-man game in the league.
But the Timberwolves aren't hurting for star power on the other side.
Anthony Edwards just led them to the Western Conference Finals last season and eliminated Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns in the first round along the way. He wasn't done from there and eliminated Nikola Jokić's Denver Nuggets in the second round before falling short against the Dallas Mavericks.
Dončić was the leader of that Mavericks team, so Edwards will have the chance at some revenge against his fellow star in this one.
But that will be easier said than done against this Lakers team.
