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NBA Playoff Bracket 2020: Round-by-Round Guide to the Postseason
August 15, 2020
More than four months after originally planned, the NBA playoffs are set to tip off Saturday inside the NBA's bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
This year's field features a number of contenders who have seemingly been on track to meet in the Finals since the beginning of the year—namely the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The two clubs earned the top seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.
The Lakers are far from the only team in Los Angeles who can win a championship this year, as a rebuilt Clippers team featuring Paul George and Kawhi Leonard appear ready to rewrite their franchise's history. To do so, they'll have to get past a first-round matchup with the Dallas Mavericks in a No. 2 vs. No. 7 battle that could be the most entertaining series of the early stages.
With all games played at a neutral location in Orlando, Florida, without any fans in attendance, the playing field has never been more even.
Here's a round-by-round look at what fans can expect over the next two months.
Eastern Conference First Round
Milwaukee Bucks (1) vs. Orlando Magic (8)
With respect to the Magic, the question in this series isn't if the Bucks will eliminate them, but how many games they'll need to do so.
Led by the league's reigning MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists per game), who could win the award again this year, Milwaukee has multiple scoring threats the Magic will need to watch if they hope to pull off the upset.
The Bucks averaged a league-best 118.7 points per game in the regular season compared to 107.3 by Orlando. Milwaukee also finished with a league-high 51.7 rebounds and eighth-best 108.6 points against per game.
If Orlando is going to pull off a series win, it'll be on defense, where the team averages 108.0 points allowed per game. With the Bucks' Khris Middleton (20.9 points), Eric Bledsoe (14.9 points) and Brook Lopez (12.0 points) each averaging double-digit scoring, that doesn't look too promising.
Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, Aug 18, 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2: Thursday, Aug 20, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, Aug 22, 1 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 4: Monday, Aug 24, 1:30 p.m. ET, NBATV
Game 5*: Wednesday, Aug 26, TBD
Game 6*: Friday, Aug 28, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, Aug 30, TBD
*if necessary
Toronto Raptors (2) vs. Brooklyn Nets (7)
The Raptors are dangerous this season even if they look different from when they won the NBA title last year.
Kawhi Leonard has been replaced him by committee, with the team thriving off the development of power forward Pascal Siakam (22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds per game) and guard Fred VanVleet (17.6 points, 6.6 assists). Toronto actually improved its winning percentage from .707 in 2018-19 to .736 this year despite the loss of Leonard.
That's who the Brooklyn Nets will have to try to slow down. If Brooklyn had a healthier roster, that wouldn't be such a tall ask.
Despite landing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency last summer, both have injuries keeping them out for the rest of the season. Brooklyn is also without Wilson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince.
Instead, the Nets are led by Caris LeVert (18.7 points per game), Jarrett Allen (11.1 points, 9.6 rebounds per game) and Chris Chiozza (6.4 points per game), making a tough matchup against Toronto even tougher.
Schedule
Game 1: Monday, Aug 17, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2: Wednesday, Aug 19, 1:30 p.m. ET, NBATV
Game 3: Friday, Aug 21, 1:30 p.m. ET, NBATV
Game 4: Sunday, Aug 23, 6:30 p.m. TNT
Game 5*: Wednesday, Aug 26, TBD
Game 6*: Friday, Aug 28, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, Aug 30
*if necessary
Boston Celtics (3) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (6)
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens enters the postseason with a new contract extension. Philadelphia 76ers boss Brett Brown is potentially coaching to save his job.
That tells you as much as anything about where each team stands entering the postseason.
Another disappointing year for the Sixers may still have them in the playoffs, but the team is a shell of itself. Franchise cornerstones Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are suffering from injuries, with the former ruled out for the year and the latter's ankle not at 100 percent.
Meanwhile, Boston has Kemba Walker nearing full strength and a deep roster that's found its footing as it looks forward to a deep playoff run.
Schedule
Game 1: Monday, Aug 17, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2: Wednesday, Aug 19, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3: Friday, Aug 21, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 4: Sunday, Aug 23, 1 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 5*: Tuesday, Aug 25, TBD
Game 6*: Thursday, Aug 27, TBD
Game 7*: Saturday, Aug 29, TBD
*if necessary
Indiana Pacers (4) vs. Miami Heat (5)
The first grudge match of the NBA bubble.
Indiana's T.J. Warren has been one of the league's leading scorers since the restart in late July, and only one player has been able to slow him down: Miami's Jimmy Butler.
The two first tussled during a Pacers loss in January that ended with Warren getting ejected and Butler blowing kisses his way.
Now the two will do battle with elimination on the line.
The Pacers haven't advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2013-14 despite four straight postseason berths. Twice during that span, Indiana forced a seven-game series. The other two ended with the Pacers getting swept.
This one has the feeling of the former and features the star players to make it happen, but the matchup to watch will be Butler vs. Warren.
Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, Aug 18, 4 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2: Thursday, Aug 20, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, Aug 22, 3:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 4: Monday, Aug 24, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 5*: Wednesday, Aug 26, TBD
Game 6*: Friday, Aug 28, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, Aug 30, TBD
*if necessary
Western Conference First Round
Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Play-In Winner (8)
The Lakers will have to wait a bit longer to find out who their opponent will be.
The Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies will square off in a play-in series to determine the No. 8 seed. If the Blazers win one game before the Grizzlies can win two, it'll be Portland that advances. If not, Memphis gets the nod. Either way, the challenge ahead is daunting for the No. 8 seed.
Los Angeles boasts arguably the best duo in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The offense has been out of sorts of late with the club going 3-5 during the restart, but both stars are veterans with playoff experience who can turn things around quickly.
It doesn't matter whom they're playing, the Lakers match up well with any club in the West, which is one of the reasons why they clinched the No. 1 seed easily.
As James looks to bring a title to his third city, shutting him down in a seven-game series will prove to be the toughest task in the postseason.
Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, Aug 18, 9 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2: Thursday, Aug 20, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, Aug 22, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 4: Monday, Aug 24, 9 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 5*: Wednesday, Aug 26, TBD
Game 6*: Friday, Aug 28, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, Aug 30, TBD
*if necessary
Los Angeles Clippers (2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (7)
There may not be a first-round series with more star power.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George against Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic. Undeniable shooters against talent unlike the league has ever seen.
The Clippers swept the season series, 3-0, outscoring the Mavericks 350-317 in the process. It's not unlikely L.A. runs through Dallas again in the playoffs, but it won't be without some high-quality playmaking from both sides.
Doncic is one of the game's most exciting young stars and makes the eye-popping seem ordinary. He led the league with 17 triple-doubles and finished third in player efficiency rating. If anyone can take over a game—or a series—it's the 21-year-old Slovenian.
Not to be outdone, Leonard is looking for back-to-back titles and is as ferocious a defender as any in the NBA. He and George have benefited from plenty of load management this season. Now they'll need to prove it was worth it.
Schedule
Game 1: Monday, Aug 17, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2: Wednesday, Aug 19, 9 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3: Friday, Aug 21, 9 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 4: Sunday, Aug 23, 3:30 p.m. ABC
Game 5*: Tuesday, Aug 25, TBD
Game 6*: Thursday, Aug 27, TBD
Game 7*: Saturday, Aug 29, TBD
*if necessary
Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Utah Jazz (6)
The two Western Conference contenders match up stunningly well in their starting lineups.
Denver boasts a trio of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Will Barton, while Utah counters with Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic.
The Nuggets, though, have burgeoning stars in rookies Bol Bol and Michael Porter Jr. on the bench.
At 7'2" and with plenty of range on his shot, Bol may turn out to be the most talented player on the floor in the series. But there's no denying how raw he is. Whether or not they stand up to the intensity of the playoff series will tell a lot about how many minutes he can handle and likely how far Denver can go.
Uber-athletic forward Porter Jr. can stretch the floor but has had trouble staying healthy enough to do so consistently.
Schedule
Game 1: Monday, Aug 17, 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2: Wednesday, Aug 19, 4 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3: Friday, Aug 21, 4 p.m., TNT
Game 4: Sunday, Aug 23, 9 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 5*: Tuesday, Aug 25, TBD
Game 6*: Thursday, Aug 27, TBD
Game 7*: Saturday, Aug 29, TBD
*if necessary
Houston Rockets (4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (5)
Houston stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook both made names for themselves in Oklahoma City, and they now find themselves with plenty to prove against the organization that drafted them.
Westbrook was acquired from OKC last summer in a trade for Harden's longtime backcourt partner, Chris Paul.
There's no doubt Paul would enjoy taking down the franchise that cast him off, and doing so with a Thunder team that previously parted ways with both Westbrook and Harden would have an air of poetry to it. But that's not the only subplot here.
Houston is trying to win by primarily playing a small-ball game. None of the Rockets' starters stand taller than 6'7" forward Robert Covington, and the plan is to run opponents into the ground with a fast-paced offense that lives and dies by the jump shot.
It just might work, but it could just as easily fall apart.
Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, Aug 18, 6:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2: Thursday, Aug 20, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, Aug 22, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4: Monday, Aug 24, 4 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 5*: Wednesday, Aug 26, TBD
Game 6*: Friday, Aug 28, TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, Aug 30, TBD
*if necessary
Conference Semifinals
Both conferences are expected to begin second-round action August 31, though the exact dates depend on how long each first-round series takes.
A Lakers-Rockets matchup in the West semifinals would provide plenty of high-scoring action; the winner of each of their three previous matchups this season scored at least 113 points. The Rockets went 2-1 against the Lakers this year, and their quick tempo would put as much stress on Los Angeles as any team can manage.
In the East, a potential rematch of last year's conference semifinal may be on the horizon for Philadelphia and Toronto. The Raptors pulled off the win thanks to the first-ever Game 7 buzzer-beater in league history by Leonard, but the Board Man isn't around to will Toronto to victory this year.
Conference Finals
The NBA has September 15 targeted as the start date for the conference finals.
Toronto blew past Milwaukee in six games in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. A year later, the Bucks are seeking revenge.
The two most talented teams in their respective conference should have little trouble meeting again for the right to play for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, with both teams having grown from the experience last season.
In the West, it all comes down to Los Angeles. Not only would an All-L.A. matchup mark the first time the Lakers and Clippers have met in the playoffs, it'd be the first conference finals appearance in Clippers history.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard versus Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Los Angeles may be big enough for the both of them, but Orlando certainly isn't.
NBA Finals
September 30 has been penciled in as the start of the NBA Finals, with October 13 serving as a potential Game 7 date.
The league has plenty of exciting matchups to hope for—Clippers vs. Sixers, Celtics vs. Lakers, Raptors vs. Clippers, Bucks vs. Blazers—but only one captures the current best of the NBA.
League executives would go wild for a Lakers-Bucks series pitting LeBron James against Giannis Antetokounmpo. No. 1 seed versus No. 1 seed. MVP candidate vs. MVP candidate.