NBA Playoffs 2016: Postseason Standings, Championship Odds and Predictions
We're only in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but it's not too early to start thinking about which teams have the best shot at a championship.
The Golden State Warriors have been the favorite all year, but a knee injury to Stephen Curry in Sunday's Game 4 against the Houston Rockets has the team's fans holding their collective breath.
The San Antonio Spurs quietly dominated throughout the campaign, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are definitely a contender due to their star power and the absence of a second true contender in their conference.
Who will take it this season? Let's review the results of the first round that have transpired so far, get some championship odds and then go through a round-by-round prediction for the remainder of the NBA playoffs.
Postseason Standings
| Matchup | Standing | Next game |
| Cavaliers (1) vs.Pistons (8) | Cavaliers win 4-0 | - |
| Hawks (4) vs. Celtics (5) | Series tied 2-2 | 4/26 |
| Raptors (2) vs. Pacers (7) | Series tied 2-2 | 4/26 |
| Heat (3) vs. Hornets (6) | Heat lead 2-1 | 4/25 |
| Matchup | Standing | Next game |
| Warriors (1) vs. Rockets (8) | Warriors lead 3-1 | 4/27 |
| Clippers (4) vs. Blazers (5) | Clippers lead 2-1 | 4/25 |
| Spurs (2) vs. Grizzlies (7) | Spurs win 4-0 | - |
| Thunder (3) vs. Mavericks (6) | Thunder lead 3-1 | 4/25 |
Championship Odds
| Golden State Warriors | -135 |
| San Antonio Spurs | +325 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | +400 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | +1500 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +1800 |
Complete OddShark.com title odds can be found here.
Predictions
| Matchup | Prediction |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons | Cavaliers in 4* |
| Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers | Raptors in 7 |
| Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets | Heat in 6 |
| Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics | Hawks in 7 |
| Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets | Warriors in 5 |
| San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies | Spurs in 4* |
| Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks | Thunder in 5 |
| Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers | Clippers in 5 |
| Matchup | Prediction |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks | Cavaliers in 5 |
| Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat | Heat in 7 |
| Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers | Warriors in 6 |
| San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | Spurs in 6 |
| Matchup | Prediction |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat | Cavaliers in 6 |
| Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs | Warriors in 7 |
| Matchup | Prediction |
| Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | Warriors in 5 |
First Round
The San Antonio Spurs have swept the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Cleveland Cavaliers needed only four games to dispose of the Detroit Pistons, so we obviously don't need to make any predictions about those series.
File the Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder-Dallas Mavericks matchups in the "all-but-over" category, as both the Warriors and Thunder hold 3-1 series leads and look poised to close out their opponents in Game 5.
Even though Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry will have an MRI on Monday to examine the right knee he injured in Game 4, per Marc Spears, the Warriors had an explosive second half without him in Game 4. Putting together a similar performance at home in Game 5 is quite possible for the Dubs.
The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers both possess 2-1 advantages in their series, and the teams' four wins were by a combined 83 points, while their two losses were only by a total of 24 points.
Miami is a deeper, more experienced squad than the Charlotte Hornets, while the Clippers have more star power, as well as much more playoff experience than the Portland Trail Blazers. Whether the series take five or six games, expect the higher seeds currently holding leads to move on.
Two series are still knotted at two games: the Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors-Indiana Pacers matchups. My pick in the Atlanta-Boston series might be different if Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk were healthy, but the Hawks' home-court advantage combined better health luck makes Atlanta the safer pick to advance in seven games.
Toronto and Indiana is such a tough series to predict, with both teams playing so inconsistently. However, the higher-seeded Raptors should get a boost playing at home in two of the series' final three games, and they do have many more offensive options. The Pacers' scoring throughout the season has proved to be so reliant on Paul George, and that could hurt them as the series concludes.
Conference Semifinals
Cleveland and Atlanta matched up a year ago in the Conference Finals, with both teams nursing several injuries. However, the Cavaliers made that series look easy, winning in four games and absolutely mauling the Hawks on the boards. Though I believe the Hawks are more "for real" this time around, the Cavs should have a healthy Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to spearhead a series win in five games.
Toronto and Miami could go either way, but the way the Raptors' star guards are playing so far in the postseason is not encouraging. Also, the Heat's Hassan Whiteside is a guy that can completely neutralize Jonas Valanciunas, who has dominated the Pacers' shallow frontcourt for much of their first-round series.
Miami is a more consistent defensive team, has more playoff experience and should advance in a tight series.
The Warriors' series with the Clippers could go a variety of ways depending on Curry's health. According to CSN's John Middlekauff, the results of the MVP favorite's MRI on Monday could yield a few different results.
We'll go the optimistic route and say it's just a Grade 1 sprain, which means Curry would be on the floor for at least a good portion of the second-round series. Golden State would struggle some without him, but the Warriors' bench is just so much more capable than the Clippers, and that should be the difference in the series.
The Thunder have given the Spurs problems throughout the past several seasons. This is a new year, though, and San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard is now good enough to put the clamps on either Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook while giving an efficient 20 to 25 points on the other end.
San Antonio has a more trustworthy bench, though Oklahoma City's Enes Kanter (28.4 points and 14.0 rebounds per 36 minutes) could make life difficult for the Spurs' smaller reserve big men.
Conference Finals
A conference finals series against Cleveland is where Chris Bosh's absence could finally catch up to Miami. Having him to match up with Love would've caused some problems for Cleveland.
However, the Heat will have to go up against the Cavaliers without him, and that spells trouble. Cleveland's Big Three of LeBron James, Irving and Love is too hot for the Heat to handle in a seven-game series, and Miami's superior depth won't be able to make up for it.
The Warriors-Spurs series everyone has been waiting for all season will live up to all expectations. Having Curry on the floor at below 100 percent also makes things interesting, since the Warriors probably would take the series in six games with him completely healthy.
Golden State's transition attack and athleticism will have run the Spurs ragged by Game 7, with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker having skill sets that make them nearly unplayable against the Warriors. Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and San Antonio's bench won't go down without a fight, though.
NBA Finals
A rematch of last year's Finals will yield the same victor, though the result will come in fewer games.
This may seem counterintuitive because Love and Irving hardly played in 2015. However, against the Warriors, that means Curry and Draymond Green have below-average defensive players to match up with.
Also, the way LeBron dominated the ball in last year's six-game series seemed to maximize the team's abilities while Cleveland has yet to strike a perfect balance between its three offensive stars when they are all healthy.
Furthermore, the Warriors are considerably better than they were a year ago. If Curry is close to normal by the NBA Finals (which we're banking on here), he'll show how much he has improved since last season.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green both lifted their games, and the team as a whole should be more ready for the bright lights of the Finals.
Golden State's depth and more cohesive star power should win in five games.
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