NBA Playoffs 2020 preview: bracket and schedule is almost set

22 NBA teams completed 8 round robin games each to simulate the tail end of the regular season. When the dust settled, eight Eastern Conference teams and nine Western teams qualified to play in the postseason. The Playoffs are set to begin on August 17th.

The eight spot for the Western Conference bracket is still in contention. 9th seed Memphis Grizzlies 34-39 (8th before the restart 32-33) will play for it against 8th seed Portland Trail Blazers 35-39 (9th before the restart 29-37).

The Trail Blazers enjoy a twice to beat advantage over the Grizzlies. Play-in games are scheduled on August 15th and 16th.

Here are the current standings:

Eastern Conference
Seed, Team, Record, Games Back
1. Milwaukee Bucks: 56-17, —
2. Toronto Raptors: 53-19, 2.5
3. Boston Celtics: 48-24, 7.5
4. Indiana Pacers: 45-28, 11
5. Miami Heat: 44-29, 12
6. Philadelphia 76ers: 43-30, 13
7. Brooklyn Nets: 35-37, 20.5
8. Orlando Magic: 33-40, 23

Western Conference
Seed, Team, Record, Games Back
1. Los Angeles Lakers: 52-19, —
2. Los Angeles Clippers: 49-23, 3.5
3. Denver Nuggets: 46-27, 7
4. Houston Rockets: 44-28, 8.5
5. Oklahoma City Thunder: 44-28, 8.5
6. Utah Jazz: 44-28, 8.5
7. Dallas Mavericks: 43-32, 11
8. Portland Trail Blazers: 35-39, 18.5
9. Memphis Grizzlies: 34-39, 19

According to Sporting News, after the completion of the play-in round between the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies, the Playoffs and Finals will follow the traditional format.

Here are the first-round match-ups in each conference:

Eastern Conference

(1) Bucks vs. (8) Magic
Championship contender Bucks led by MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will play against the injury-prone Orlando Magic. An upset here is very unlikely.

(2) Raptors vs. (7) Nets
Defending champion Toronto Raptors without Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard will play against the Brooklyn Nets without superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who opted out of the restart. What should have been an exciting match-up won't be as exciting as it should be.

(3) Celtics vs. (6) 76ers
Young guns match-up. A new generation of players reviving an age-old rivalry.

(4) Pacers vs. (5) Heat
The Pacers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA bubble. They are playing against a Miami Heat team that's not even a shadow of its former self from the 2010s.

Western Conference

(1) Lakers vs. (8) Trail Blazers/Grizzlies
Top seed Los Angeles Lakers led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis will likely stomp over the tired winner of the play-in games.

(2) Clippers vs. (7) Mavericks
Newly built championship squad led by Paul George and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard will go against young Luka Doncic and the Mavericks. This is the most exciting match-up in the first round.

(3) Nuggets vs. (6) Jazz
The Nuggets will have a hard time going against the Utah Jazz. It is a team without any superstars but is good enough to end the regular season with 46-27. Assuming Nikola Jokic does not have any further health issues, there shouldn't be a problem for the Nuggets to advance.

(4) Rockets vs. (5) Thunder
Interesting ironic match-up. The duo that put the Oklahoma City Thunder on the map is Russell Westbrook and James Harden, both players now play for the Rockets.