Who Is Shining Bright In The NBA Playoffs?

There are still a number of superstars from my list of the Ten Best NBA Superstars Right Now competing for their teams in the NBA Playoffs at the moment.

But for some on the list, their participation in the tournament was cut short, while for others, they didn’t even reach the playoffs in the first place.

A quick look at the early season odds with bet365 Sport would have revealed that teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets would be amongst the favourites not just to qualify for the playoffs, but to win the NBA Championship outright.

However, the Nets were thrashed 4-0 in the opening round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, while the Los Angeles Lakers had their worst season in living memory and did not even qualify for the Play In, let alone the playoffs themselves.

A total of eight teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs, six directly from each conference and two qualified from the play in tournament which featured the teams finishing 7^th, 8^th, 9^th and 10^th in each Conference regular season rankings.

Let’s now recap how the NBA Playoffs and Play In has gone so far, before we bring you bang up to date with this weekend’s results, as well as what the latest odds are on which team will be crowned the NBA Champions in 2022.

NBA Regular Season Rankings, Playoffs & Play In Qualifiers

The NBA Regular Season ended with the following teams from each conference reaching the playoffs or the play in, or being eliminated from contention. The team’s seeding in the playoffs or play in are shown in brackets.

Eastern Conference

Playoffs – Miami Heat (1), Boston Celtics (2), Milwaukee Bucks (3), Philadelphia 76ers (4), Toronto Raptors (5), Chicago Bulls (6)

Play In – Brooklyn Nets (7), Atlanta Hawks (8), Cleveland Cavaliers (9), Charlotte Hornets (10)

Eliminated – New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic

Western Conference

Playoffs – Phoenix Suns (1), Memphis Grizzlies (2), Golden State Warriors (3), Dallas Mavericks (4), Utah Jazz (5), Denver Nuggets (6)

Play In – Minnesota Timberwolves (7), New Orleans Pelicans (8), Los Angeles Clippers (9), San Antonio Spurs (10)

Eliminated – Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets

Play In Tournament

Eastern Conference

• 7^th Seed Game – Brooklyn Nets 115-108 Cleveland Cavaliers (Nets are 7^th Seed)
• 8^th Seed Playoff – Atlanta Hawks 132-103 Charlotte Hornets (Hawks progress to 8^th Seed Game)
• 8^th Seed Game – Cleveland Cavaliers 101-107 Atlanta Hawks (Hawks are 8^th Seed)

Western Conference

• 7^th Seed Game – Minnesota Timberwolves 109-104 Los Angeles Clippers (Timberwolves are 7^th seed)
• 8^th Seed Playoff – New Orleans Pelicans 113-103 San Antonio Spurs (Pelicans progress to 8^th Seed Game)
• 8^th Seed Game – Los Angeles Clippers 101-105 New Orleans Pelicans (Pelicans are 8^th Seed)

NBA Playoffs Round 1

Eastern Conference

• Miami Heat (1) 4-1 Atlanta Hawks (8)
• Boston Celtics (2) 4-0 Brooklyn Nets (7)
• Milwaukee Bucks (3) 4-1 Chicago Bulls (6)
• Philadelphia 76ers (4) 4-2 Toronto Raptors (5)

Western Conference

• Phoenix Suns (1) 4-2 New Orleans Pelicans (8)
• Memphis Grizzlies (2) 4-2 Minnesota Timberwolves (7)
• Golden State Warriors (3) 4-1 Denver Nuggets (6)
• Dallas Mavericks (4) 4-2 Utah Jazz (5)

In both conferences we saw all the four top seeds make it through the first round of playoff games with no surprise victories for any of the lower ranked teams.

In fact, no series went to a seventh game with all teams wrapping their series up in six games or fewer, with the Boston Celtics producing the performance of the round with a 4-0 whitewashing of the Brooklyn Nets.

This meant that both conference semi final ties would pit the top seed against the fourth seed and the second and third seeds together in another best of seven series.

We are now approaching the midway point of the semi final series, so lets take a look at how they are progressing.

NBA Playoffs – Conference Semi Finals

Eastern Conference

• Miami Heat (1) 2-2 Philadelphia 76ers (4)

Game 1 – Miami Heat 106-92 Philadelphia 76ers

Game 2 – Miami Heat 119-103 Philadelphia 76ers

Game 3 – Philadelphia 76ers 99-79 Miami Heat

Game 4 – Philadelphia 76ers 116-108 Miami Heat

Game 5 – Miami Heat V Philadelphia 76ers (12.30am 11^th May)

Game 6 – Philadelphia 76ers V Miami Heat (12am 13^th May)

Game 7 – Miami Heat V Philadelphia 76ers (TBC 15^th May)

• Boston Celtics (2) 1-2 Milwaukee Bucks (3)

Game 1 – Boston Celtics 89-101 Milwaukee Bucks

Game 2 – Boston Celtics 109-86 Milwaukee Bucks

Game 3 – Milwaukee Bucks 103-101 Boston Celtics

Game 4 – Milwaukee Bucks V Boston Celtics (12.30 am 10^th May)

Game 5 – Boston Celtics v Milwaukee Bucks (12am, 12^th May)

Game 6 – Milwaukee Bucks v Boston Celtics (TBC – 13^th May)

Game 7 – Boston Celtics v Milwaukee Bucjks (TBC – 15^th May)

Western Conference

• Phoenix Suns (1) 2-2 Dallas Mavericks (4)

Game 1 – Phoenix Suns 121-114 Dallas Mavericks

Game 2 – Phoenix Suns 129-109 Dallas Mavericks

Game 3 – Dallas Mavericks 103-94 Phoenix Suns

Game 4 – Dallas Mavericks 111-101 Phoenix Suns

Game 5 – Phoenix Suns V Dallas Mavericks (3.00am 11^th May)

Game 6 – Dallas Mavericks V Phoenix Suns (2.30am 13^th May)

Game 7 – Phoenix Suns V Dallas Mavericks (TBC 15^th May)

• Memphis Grizzlies (2) 1-2 Golden State Warriors (3)

Game 1 – Memphis Grizzlies 116-117 Golden State Warriors

Game 2 – Memphis Grizzlies 106-101 Golden State Warriors

Game 3 – Golden State Warriors 142-112 Memphis Grizzlies

Game 4 – Golden State Warriors V Memphis Grizzlies (3.00 am 10^th May)

Game 5 – Memphis Grizzlies v Golden State Warriors (2.30am, 12^th May)

Game 6 – Golden State Warriors v Memphis Grizzlies (TBC – 13^th May)

Game 7 – Memphis Grizzlies v Golden State Warriors (TBC – 15^th May)

Latest Odds

The latest odds for the Conference Semi Finals, to win the series with bet365 are as follows:

• Miami Heat 4/6, Philadelphia 76ers 13/10
• Milwaukee Bucks 20/33, Boston Celtics 29/20
• Dallas Mavericks 2/1, Phoenix Suns 5/12
• Golden State Warriors 1/10, Memphis Grizzlies 13/2

If you want to back a team to win their conference then the current odds are:

Eastern Conference – Milwaukee Bucks – 17/10, Miami Heat – 5/2, Boston Celtics – 11/4, Philadelphia 76ers – 5/1

Western Conference – Golden State Warriors – 20/21, Phoenix Suns – 6/4, Dallas Mavericks – 13/2. Memphis Grizzlies – 18/1

And lastly, the outright odds to win the NBA Championship this year are as follows:

To Win Championship – Golden State Warriors 11/5, Phoenix Suns 10/3, Milwaukee Bucks 17/4, Miami Heat 13/2, Boston Celtics 7/1, Philadelphia 76ers 12/1, Dallas Mavericks 14/1, Memphis Grizzlies 33/1

At the start of the campaign, I tipped the Golden State Warriors to win it all and I am keeping with that tip and my bet on the Conference Winner in the East is the Philadelphia 76ers, now that they have got Joel Embiid back from injury.