NBA Playoffs 2018: Latest Postseason Bracket, Standings and Title Picks
LeBron James provided the most memorable moment of the 2018 NBA playoffs thus far when he drilled a game-winning three-pointer to catapult the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-95 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series.
It will be interesting to see if the Cavs ride the momentum of that shot into greater postseason success, although the Pacers have proved to be a tough out for Cleveland thus far.
Below you can find predictions for how the Cavs will fare for the rest of the playoffs (in addition to the remaining teams standing). You can also review the latest playoff results and bracket.
NBA Playoff Bracket: Eastern Conference
First Round
No. 1 Toronto Raptors 3, No. 8 Washington Wizards 2
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 3, No. 5 Indiana Pacers 2
No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers 4, No. 6 Miami Heat 1
No. 2 Boston Celtics 3, No. 7 Milwaukee Bucks 3
Second Round
Toronto/Washington winner vs. Cleveland/Indiana winner
Philadelphia vs. Boston/Milwaukee winner
Conference Finals
Winners of second-round matchups face off. Higher seed has home-court advantage.
NBA Playoff Bracket: Western Conference
First Round
No. 1 Houston Rockets 4, No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves 1
No. 5 Utah Jazz 3, No. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder 2
No. 6 New Orleans Pelicans 4, No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers 0
No. 2 Golden State Warriors 4, No. 7 San Antonio Spurs 1
Second Round
Golden State vs. New Orleans
Houston vs. Utah/Oklahoma City winner
Conference Finals
Winners of second-round matchups face off. Higher seed has home-court advantage.
NBA Finals
Eastern Conference winner vs. Western Conference winner. Team with better regular-season record has home-court advantage.
Title Picks
Eastern Conference
The Philadelphia 76ers are resting as the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks play out a grueling seven-game series.
Philadelphia will have a four-day rest advantage on the team that wins this series, which should be a huge boost for the 76ers to kick off the conference semifinals. Also, the 76ers have won 21 of their last 22 games dating back to the regular season. Look for them to advance to the East final.
Their opponent is a bit tougher to call: I picked the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Finals before the playoffs with the guess that this postseason could be LeBron James' magnum opus. James has been the playoff MVP thus far, averaging 34.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.
While other stars have better complementary talent, James is so good that one has to wonder if his continued individual dominance is good enough to put Cleveland over the top. The pick is for the Cavs to beat the Toronto Raptors or Washington Wizards and meet the 76ers in the conference finals.
The Cavs-76ers matchup should be fantastic and could easily go the full seven games. The X-factor here is whether the Cavs outside LeBron James find their rhythm after what has been an uneven playoff performance so far. Specifically, center Kevin Love needs to get it going from the field, as he's shooting just 32.8 percent through five matchups.
But it's hard seeing Love stay cold for too much longer: At some point, he'll experience positive regression towards his 45.9 percent mark (and 41.5 percent from the three-point line) from this year. Look for him to bounce back and for other Cavs (such as Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson) to provide enough production off the bench to beat Philadelphia in a close seven-game series.
Western Conference
The New Orleans Pelicans put on a basketball clinic in their first-round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers, but they are about to face a Golden State Warriors team that may be getting star point guard Steph Curry back just in time for the playoffs.
Curry, who suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain late in the regular season, is questionable to play Game 1, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic:
Even if Curry misses one game, the Warriors would have a distinct edge in this series. The main problem would obviously be Pels big man Anthony Davis, who will still grab his 30 or so points and 10 or so rebounds per game.
But the Pels defense (like any defense) will have a hard time containing four All-Stars on the court: It's hard seeing them win any shootouts. Davis may help the Pels win a game or two, but the Warriors will move on.
Once there, look for them to face the Houston Rockets (who could beat either the Utah Jazz or Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round without too much trouble) in a showdown many expected this season. This series is almost too close to call, especially considering that the Warriors should be at full strength. The Rockets have won 69 of their 87 games this year (including playoffs), which includes 37 of 44 at home.
The three matchups that these two teams played this season aren't great gauges for how the series may turn out, as both teams' current rosters are much different (for example, James Harden and Kevin Durant were injured in the Warriors' 124-114 win on January 4).
But there are two interesting X-factors here. First, Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee has brought the starting lineup some energy (which the home crowd clearly feeds off). He's performed well in the playoffs, averaging 8.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 block per game.
But the Houston Rockets have an energetic fan favorite as well in guard/forward Gerald Green, who can get hot from deep at any time. That's exactly what happened in Game 2, as he dropped 21 points and 12 rebounds in just 26 minutes.
Again, this is a tough one to predict. This series might just be one where the home team holds serve all the way through. In that case, the Rockets have home-court advantage, so the pick is Houston in seven en route to the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals
At first glance, a Cavaliers vs. Rockets matchup has two obvious routes. The first is a Rockets blowout as the Cavaliers defense finds itself on its heels all series as Chris Paul, James Harden and others rain three-pointer after three-pointer in a quick sweep or five-game set.
The other route is that the Cavs keep this one close thanks to a litany of factors, including (but not limited to) LeBron James' near-invincible play, Kevin Love excelling as the second option and the bench pushing the pace and causing problems for the second unit. Also, if the Rockets get cold from deep for a few games, then the Cavaliers could take advantage.
Going back to a previous point, there's a gut feeling here that this is LeBron James' time and he finds a way to will his team to a title. Granted, that's a risky proposition given that (a) the Cavs haven't looked great in their series with the Pacers and (b) they may have to win four-game series with the Toronto Raptors, 76ers and Rockets or Warriors to do so. But James is on another planet away from the rest of the NBA right now. Look for the Cavs to take this hypothetical series in seven.
