NBA Playoffs 2016: Known Schedule, Bracket Format and Dangerous Teams
The final few games of the 2015-16 NBA season will play a big role toward seeding, but the playoff picture is already pretty clear.
Unlike other sports, the postseason for this league features little opportunity for upsets. With four rounds of best-of-seven-games series (all broken down in 2-2-1-1-1 format to benefit the team with the best record), the better squad usually comes out on top. Even without reseeding after each round, dramatic runs from sleeper teams like in March Madness aren't common.
This means the top contenders during the regular season will likely remain the top contenders for an NBA title. Here is a breakdown of those teams with a look at what we already know about the upcoming playoffs.
| First Round | April 16 - May 1 | ESPN/ABC/TNT/NBATV |
| Conference Semifinals | May 2 - May 16 | ESPN/ABC/TNT |
| Conference Finals | May 17 - June 1 | ESPN/TNT |
| NBA Finals | June 2 - June 19 | ABC |
What We Know
There is still a lot left to play for in the final two days of the regular season, but quite a bit has also already been decided.
Only one of the 16 playoff spots is still up for grabs with 15 teams clinching a postseason berth by Monday night. We know the eight teams competing in the Eastern Conference, but the last spot in the Western Conference will come down to either the Houston Rockets or Utah Jazz. The Dallas Mavericks became the latest team to earn a spot in the field with their road victory over Utah.
As far as seeding is concerned, though, the West is ahead of its counterpart. The Golden State Warriors are the No. 1 seed with the best record in basketball, while the San Antonio Spurs are behind them at No. 2. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers round out the list of home teams in their first series.
In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers have secured the No. 1 seed, while the Toronto Raptors sit at No. 2. However, Nos. 3 through 6 are still up for grabs, as well as the order of the final couple of spots, creating plenty of drama as teams close out their seasons.
Dangerous Teams to Watch
Golden State Warriors
There is sometimes a debate over which team is the best in the NBA. That is not the case this year, as the Warriors are instead starting a debate over whether they are the best in the history of the sport.
They have already tied the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the most wins in a single season at 72 and still have one game remaining to break the record. According to the team's Twitter account, the squad has also set a record for the most road wins in a season (34) while becoming the first not to lose consecutive games all year.
Stephen Curry is likely on his way to his second consecutive MVP award with a league-leading 29.9 points per game to go with 6.7 assists and 5.5 rebounds. He is also as efficient as almost anyone the NBA has seen—he's made 45.2 percent of his three-point shots and 90.6 percent of his free throws.
The best endorsement for this group likely came from the coach of the biggest rival at this point, Gregg Popovich. The Spurs head coach explained his thoughts on this team in February, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein:
"I'm actually enjoying them very much. You try to solve them, but they're in a sense unsolvable because it's a particular mix of talent that they have. It's not just that Steph [Curry] can make shots or that Klay can make shots or that Draymond Green is versatile. Everybody on the court can pass, catch and shoot. And they all get it.
They're for real. They're talented. But they're also very, very smart.
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If arguably the best coach in the sport with the second-best team can't solve them, it means the Warriors are in pretty good shape going into the playoffs.
With easily the best offense in the game to go with a strong defense and a deep roster of talent, Golden State is the clear favorite to win its second title in a row.
San Antonio Spurs
If the Warriors weren't in the picture, we would be talking at length about San Antonio's season. The Spurs have a 65-15 record—a win total only matched twice in the last six years.
San Antonio also has the best defense in the NBA, as it allows just 92.9 points per game and earns a 10.8-point differential per game, which is even better than the Warriors.
The Spurs have veteran stars like Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili who have turned into role players behind Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, and this gives the squad a long list of people it can trust to make a play in the postseason. These men have been there before and should have no problem heading into the next couple of months with complete confidence.
The problems have come when facing the Warriors, against whom they were 1-3 this season. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group provided some stats from the head-to-head matchups:
San Antonio doesn't always light up the scoreboard, but this is the second-best three-point shooting team in the NBA. It usually utilizes an efficient attack to get the most out of every possession. Against Golden State, the team just looks lost and has trouble scoring.
Against every other opponent, the Spurs should be the clear favorites in the playoffs as one of the best assembled teams in the past decade. However, if they want to win a championship, they will likely have to figure out a way to get past the Warriors.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals last year with a team that was basically LeBron James and little else. While the role players made a big impact, both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were hurting, which forced James to average 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in the Finals just to stay competitive with the Warriors.
Obviously, they weren't able to keep up with Golden State last time around, but this current team is healthier and now has a better seed than a year ago.
Cleveland clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference Monday night with a convincing win over the Atlanta Hawks. As ESPN's Dave McMenamin noted, this squad showed it can be really good:
While the Toronto Raptors have had an excellent season, the Cavs should still be overwhelming favorites to get out of the East and into the NBA Finals. If they can get through the first three rounds unscathed, they might even be better rested for a projected rematch against the Warriors.
All it will take from there is four good games, and with the way this group is capable of playing, James and company have a chance to win it all.
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