2022 NBA Playoffs Bracket: Seedings, Matchups and Schedule

NBA Playoff Bracket as of May 16th

[May 16] The Conference Finals are set, with both the Celtics and Warriors opening as heavy favorites to reach the NBA Finals

[May 13] The Heat are the first team in to the conference finals, with a Game 6 blowout win in Philly launching them in to hosting Game 1 next week

Be sure to check the latest NBA playoff odds at your book of choice with just about 10 games remaining in the regular season for most teams.

2022 NBA Playoff Picture

The Warriors are now favorites in NBA Championship odds as short as +300. The Celtics odds to win the Eastern Conference also shortened to favorites’ position after sweeping the Brooklyn Nets out of the postseason

NBA Conference Finals Matchups

The 2nd round will begin on Sunday, with the Bucks and Celtics facing off at 1:00pm EST in the NBA Showcase game on ABC.

NBA Play-In Tournament Matchups

After both seventh seeds won on Tuesday night, the 8th seeds held firm on home court Wednesday night, setting up 8 vs 9 matchups for the final playoff spot in each conference. The Hawks opened as two-point favorites in Cleveland, while Los Angeles are four-point favorites in the Clippers vs Pelicans odds.

2022 NBA Playoffs Schedule

When Do NBA Playoffs Start?

The Play-In Tournament runs over four days, from April 12th to 15th. The 1st round gets underway on April 16th and will likely run until the first weekend of May. While the first round and NBA Finals start dates are set in stone, the 2nd round and Conference Finals start dates will hinge upon how long the series in the prior round last.

How Does the NBA Playoff Bracket Work?

For the third straight season, the NBA will continue with the Play-In Tournament for the 7-10 seeds in each conference before commencing the traditional 16-team playoff format.

Following the Play-In Tournament, we have a traditional playoff bracket with eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conference competing in a postseason of four rounds comprised of seven game series. The opening round matchups are 1-8, 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5. The NBA does not re-seed if upsets occur, the bracket is fixed.

How Does the NBA Play-In Tournament Work?

In the Play-In Tournament, the #7 and #8 seed in each conference will each have two opportunities to win one game to earn a playoff spot. The #9 and #10 seed in each conference will each have to win two consecutive games to earn a playoff spot.

The #7 team in each conference hosts the #8 team, with the winner receiving the seventh seed. The winner of the #9 vs #10 game will then face the loser of the 7-8 game, with the winner of that game earning the #8 seed in the final bracket.

Current NBA Standings

NBA Standings as of April 11th

Once the seeds are set in stone at season’s end, check back in with SBD to see how to complete NBA Playoff bracket and picks your winners all the way to the NBA Finals!