NBA Playoffs Preview 2023

The NBA Playoffs are one of the most exciting events in all of sports and for good reason. The single elimination tournament style event sees basketball’s biggest stars and hottest contenders duke it out for a chance to win the NBA Finals. With exciting new additions like the play-in tournament, the format has changed since the golden age of basketball. Here is what you need to know about the NBA Playoffs.

When are the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs?

The NBA regular season will start with the recently implemented play-in game. This will take place on April 11th and last through the 14th. The actual playoffs will begin the following day on April 15th. The NBA championship will begin to be decided on June 1st with a potential game seven listed for June 18th. The NBA season will conclude with the 2023 NBA Draft on June 23rd, which will begin the offseason.

How many teams make the NBA Playoffs?

The top six NBA teams in each conference in the regular season standings will automatically advance to the postseason and be seeded one through six. The seven, eight, nine, and ten seeds are forced to play in the play-in tournament. The NBA play-in tournament consists of matchups between the seven-eight seeds and the nine-ten seeds. The winner of the seven, eight game will advance to the playoffs and the winner of the nine, ten game will play the loser of the seven-eight game for the last spot.

From there the first round commences, with the one seed playing the eight seed, two playing seven and so on. Each series will consist of a best of seven game format. The winners will advance to the Eastern conference or western conference semifinals. Then those winners will advance to the conference finals. The final two teams in each conference will face off in the NBA Finals, which is also a best of seven series.

What channels do the NBA Playoffs air on?

Keeping track of what channels the playoffs air on is hard, but it gets easier as the playoffs progress. The first round will bounce around from NBA TV, to TNT, to ESPN, and ABC. The ensuing rounds will stay between TNT, ESPN, and ABC, with the Finals being found exclusively on ABC.

NBA Championship odds for each team (February 6th, FanDuel Sportsbook)

• Boston Celtics: +300
  
• Milwaukee Bucks: +450
  
• Denver Nuggets: +800
  
• Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies: +1,000
  
• Golden State Warriors: +1,200
  
• Dallas Mavericks (post Kyrie Irving trade), Los Angeles Clippers: +1,400
  
• Phoenix Suns: +1,900
  
• Cleveland Cavaliers: +2,000
  
• Brooklyn Nets: +2,200
  
• New Orleans Pelicans: +2,700
  
• Miami Heat: +4,000
  
• Los Angeles Lakers: +6,500
  
• Sacramento Kings: +10,000
  
• Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors: +13,000
  
• Portland Trail Blazers: +14,000
  
• Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks: +20,000
  
• Minnesota Timberwolves: +21,000
  
• Utah Jazz: +25,000
  
• Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs: +50,000
  

Who made the playoffs last season?

In the Eastern conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Joel Embiid, James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls all made the playoffs. The Brooklyn Nets played in the play-in game for the first time and advanced and the Atlanta Hawks advanced from the play-in game as well.

In the West, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz, and Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets all made the playoffs. The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the world and won the seventh seed in the play-in. Meanwhile the New Orleans Pelicans beat the LA Clippers to get the eighth seed.

Who won the 2022 NBA Finals?

After going 11-12 after the All-Star Game, the Golden State Warriors marched through the Western Conference off the backs of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Meanwhile, the Jayson Tatum-led Celtics fought a tough battle in the East against the Heat, Bucks and Nets but made it out with a Finals appearance. It was a hard fought six game series but the Warriors could not be stopped as they won their third ring in five years on their home court in San Francisco. This gave head coach Steve Kerr his ninth ring and gave Steph Curry his first ever Finals MVP.

Has the NBA season schedule changed this year?

The NBA season schedule has seen a little bit of a change going into 2022. Christmas Day was a huge day for the league despite the NFL also having games that day. On Christmas Day 2022, the Nuggets defeated the Suns, the Warriors defeated the Grizzlies, the Celtics defeated the Bucks, the 76ers defeated the Knicks, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Election Day, November 8th, 2022, saw no games as the league wanted to encourage fans and players to get out and vote. Also a mid-season tournament is being discussed.