NBA bracket set
The NBA playoff bracket is locked after Sunday’s games, with the Oklahoma City Thunder the No. 1 seed in the West and the Detroit Pistons the No. 1 seed in the East. ( ). The betting market still favors the Thunder to repeat as champions, and first‑round prices and play‑in lines are already moving, signaling where oddsmakers see the biggest mismatches. ( )
The National Basketball Association postseason field is set, and the road to June now runs through Oklahoma City in the West and Detroit in the East. (nba.com) The play-in tournament opened on Tuesday, April 14, and ends Friday, April 17, with seeds 7 through 10 in each conference competing for the last two playoff spots. The full first round starts Saturday, April 18, and the Finals are scheduled to begin June 3. (espn.com) Four first-round series were locked before the play-in: New York Knicks against Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers against Toronto Raptors in the East, plus Denver Nuggets against Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers against Houston Rockets in the West. Detroit, Boston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio are waiting on play-in winners. (nba.com) The East play-in bracket is Philadelphia 76ers against Orlando Magic in the 7-8 game and Charlotte Hornets against Miami Heat in the 9-10 game. In the West, the Phoenix Suns play the Portland Trail Blazers in the 7-8 game, and the Los Angeles Clippers face the Golden State Warriors in the 9-10 game. (sports.yahoo.com) Detroit finished 60-22 to claim the top seed in the East, while Oklahoma City earned its third straight No. 1 seed in the West. Boston finished second in the East at 55-26, and San Antonio took the No. 2 seed in the West. (sports.yahoo.com) The format is unchanged: every round after the play-in is best-of-seven, teams are not reseeded, and the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 in a 2-2-1-1-1 setup. That means the bracket, once the play-in ends, stays fixed through the conference finals. (espn.com) Betting markets still see Oklahoma City as the team to beat. ESPN Betting listed the Thunder at +110 to win the title, ahead of San Antonio at +500 and Boston at +550, while Detroit was priced at +2200 despite the East’s top seed. (espn.com) Early series prices point to where bookmakers see the biggest gaps. Sports Yahoo reported the Lakers were favored against Houston, the Knicks were favored against Atlanta, the Cavaliers were favored against Toronto, and the Clippers were favored over Golden State in the West’s 9-10 play-in game. (sports.yahoo.com) The schedule is already slotted for national windows: Cleveland-Toronto opens Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern, Denver-Minnesota at 3:30 p.m., New York-Atlanta at 6 p.m., and Lakers-Rockets at 8:30 p.m. On Sunday, Boston opens at 1 p.m., Oklahoma City at 3:30 p.m., Detroit at 6:30 p.m., and San Antonio at 9 p.m. once the play-in field is complete. (nba.com) What looked unsettled a week ago is now narrow and concrete: 20 teams remain, 16 will make the bracket, and Oklahoma City enters as both the top seed in the West and the betting favorite to finish the job again. (espn.com)
