The 2024 NBA Playoff bracket has been set after a wild final day of the regular season.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) To Be Determined
(2) New York Knicks vs. (7) To Be Determined
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Orlando Magic
Play-in Tournament
(7) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (8) Miami Heat; winner faces New York in first round
(9) Chicago Bulls vs. (10) Atlanta Hawks; winner faces loser of 7/8 game
7/8 Loser vs. 9/10 Winner; winner faces Boston in first round
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) To Be Determined
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) To Be Determined
(3) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (6) Phoenix Suns
(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5) Dallas Mavericks
Play-in Tournament
(7) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (8) Los Angeles Lakers; winner faces Denver in first round
(9) Sacramento Kings vs. (10) Golden State Warriors; winner plays 7/8 loser
7/8 loser vs. 9/10 winner; winner faces Oklahoma City in the first round
I feel good about my Pacers’ first-round matchup with the Bucks. We’ve owned them this year, including in the In-Season Tournament. Playoffs are another story, of course. But I like the growing rivalry.
I think the Mavs are a better team than their 5# seed would indicate. Prior to the loss yesterday (a game which Dallas had nothing to play for, given that seeding was already settled in stone for them,) they had gone on a 15-2 tear over a seventeen-game stretch. They are the hot hand for now.
I’m not predicting a championship for the Sixers, but I wouldn’t rule it out. They should at least be a dangerous spoiler. 8 wins in a row, and they have a relatively injury-free Embid (assuming sitting out today was truly precautionary).
He seems at mid-season form, but is also reasonably rested after being out for 29 games. This is usually the time of year when a battered Joel gives us his all but just runs out of gas. He should have a lot in the tank. I think they’ll be a scary playoff team. They are certainly way better (now) than their seed.
They appear to be single games. The two Western Conference games are on Tuesday; the two Eastern Conference games are on Wednesday. Then, the final two play-in games (pitting teams that had played earlier in the week) are on Friday.
I mean, before the tournament 9 and 10 would just be at home. I feel good about Orlando against Cleveland, would have been better with home court advantage but we screwed that up in the last week.
And the Warriors are out, this might spell the end for that dynasty. Lakers are in at 7, New Orleans still has another shot against the Kings for the 8th spot.
I would normally like MN’s chances, but they have had a terrible time with the Suns this season, losing three of four encounters. Durant, Booker and Beal are formidable, and Nurk is no slouch in the middle.
And Chicago is going to be missing Caruso, I think Miami still has the edge here. Either way its just deciding who’s going to get swept by Boston a week later.
Caruso has a “significant ankle sprain” but is still listed as day-to-day. Losing Butler is a huge blow to the Heat.
The Bulls played their best game of the season last night, which we can’t even be completely happy about because we know management doesn’t believe in the concept of regression to the mean and will say “Clearly we’ve turned a corner and are going to play at this level every game from now on, so no roster changes are needed!” OTOH, if we’d lost they’d have said the same thing anyway, and cherrypicked some games from the regular season as “evidence”. And if we’d lost by less than 20, they’d be patting themselves on the back for being “competitive”. If we manage to get the eighth seed, they’ll brag about it as though it were a meaningful accomplishment. The team plays hard, doesn’t give up, and is fun to watch, which is great, but they’re not actually very good, and there’s no plan to get better, and no apparent urgency to make any such plan.
