NBA Playoffs 2016: Updated Conference Brackets, Postseason Records and Odds
Don't crown the Golden State Warriors NBA champions just yet. In fact, hold off on slotting them in for the NBA Finals as well.
The presumptive favorites for the 2016 Larry O'Brien Trophy took a shot to the chin on Monday night, courtesy of an Oklahoma City Thunder team that refused to cave when trailing by double digits and eventually carved out a 108-102 road win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder are making it impossible to sleep on the playoffs until June.
The Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors might have the air of a walkover for LeBron James' top-seeded side, but perhaps whatever brilliant alchemy is powering the Thunder will inspire the representatives from the Queen City and turn that series into a fight.
For an updated bracket, check out NBA.com. Below you can find the postseason records for each team and championship odds for the four remaining contenders.
| Golden State Warriors | 8-3 | 5-8 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 8-0 | 23-10 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 9-3 | 6-1 |
| Toronto Raptors | 8-6 | 33-1 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 6-4 | |
| Miami Heat | 7-7 | |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 5-6 | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 4-6 | |
| Indiana Pacers | 3-4 | |
| Charlotte Hornets | 3-4 | |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 2-4 | |
| Boston Celtics | 2-4 | |
| Dallas Mavericks | 1-4 | |
| Houston Rockets | 1-4 | |
| Detroit Pistons | 0-4 | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 0-4 |
Note: Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Monday, May 16, at 7 a.m. ET.
Conference Finals Notes
The Thunder may be a 57-win squad with two of the best players in the NBA in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but they are essentially fulfilling the role of plucky underdog in defeating the 67-win San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals and stealing the first salvo of the conference finals against the 73-win Warriors.
Durant and Westbrook overcame poor first-halves to combine for 53 points, and the Thunder won both the turnover and rebounding battles as a team.
Steven Adams has also picked a fine time to become a reliable source of scoring and rebounding. The Oklahoman's Anthony Slater praised his impact in Game 1:
If Adams can continue to bully the Warriors' big men, it may force Golden State to slow down its game and sacrifice some of its freewheeling, small-ball exploits. It's not great for the Warriors when Stephen Curry leads the team with 10 rebounds and Andrew Bogut only plays 17 minutes and comes up empty in the scoring column.
"They have a pretty big lineup that they can throw out there and do a lot of switching and take you out of certain reads," Curry said, per ESPN's J.A. Adande. "They didn't make too many mistakes on the defensive end, which forced us into some tough shots."
Fans will have certainly noticed that the Thunder have benefited from controversial non-calls at the end of three close games in this postseason. It happened twice against the Spurs, and it's clear Westbrook got away with a travel while trying to call a timeout with just over five seconds left in Monday's contest.
While it's impossible to overlook these fortuitous events, they shouldn't cheapen the Thunder's achievements to this point. Plus, it seems that if you're going to knock a team of destiny off course, you could certainly use a little luck.
As for the Eastern Conference, one has to wonder if the Raptors are physically capable of keeping up with the Cavaliers for a seven-game series, which begins Tuesday in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers last played on May 8, having swept the Atlanta Hawks behind a barrage of three-point shooting that would make even the Warriors jealous. James and company also swept the Detroit Pistons in the opening round of the playoffs.
In stark contrast to the Cavs gliding over the competition, Toronto has hit plenty of turbulence this postseason and needed seven games to dispatch both the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have had a horrible time shooting the ball this postseason, but fans will hope that they have turned a corner after combining for 63 points on 46.9 percent shooting in a 116-89 Game 7 win over the Heat.
Lowry was the more impressive of the two in that game, and there's reason to believe he might keep up the good work against Cleveland, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Should Lowry and/or DeRozan again revert to bricklayers against the Cavaliers, it's difficult to see where the offensive help will come from. According to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, center Jonas Valanciunas will miss Tuesday's series opener with an ankle injury picked up early in the Heat series.
Bismack Biyombo stepped up to play the game of his life with 17 points and 16 rebounds in Game 7, but he did that with the 6'7" Justise Winslow guarding him—not the injured shot-blocker extraordinaire Hassan Whiteside. Tristan Thompson isn't known for his defense, but he's capable of containing Biyombo.
If the Cavaliers shoot the three at all like they did against Atlanta, this series could be difficult to watch for Raptors fans. Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney sees another sweep for the Cavs in the offering:
"Toronto can guard relatively well when it has its priorities straight, but tends to trip up when stretched out to the three-point line in several directions. That might be a problem against a Cleveland team that ranks among the most prolific three-point shooting outfits in playoff history. Defending the Heat is forgiving to opponents in exactly the way that defending the Cavs is not. Threes are a natural, encouraged, essential byproduct of the way Cleveland operate. Looks are there off the dribble for Irving and Matthew Dellavedova when the defense plays conservatively. Spot-ups for Love, Frye, Irving, and J.R. Smith are keyed by a team-wide interest in ball movement. If the Raptors track those shooters in the same way they did those on the Pacers, this series could get out of hand quickly.
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The Raptors have their work cut out for them, but stealing a game or two is not an impossible task. DeMarre Carroll will have to step up on offense, and if Valanciunas returns, that should give the Raptors an overall edge inside.
Plus, if Lowry and DeRozan can just shoot like they did in the regular season, this series could very well resemble the No. 1 seed versus No. 2 seed matchup that it is.
