We’re coming up on mid-April and that signals the end of the NBA regular season with the NBA playoffs set to begin. As with every year, there’s a couple contenders that have locked up their position with other teams jockeying for final seed; which won’t be clear until the final week of play.
At this point, what’s certain is that the Houston Rockets, led by eventual MVP James Harden ,will be the #1 seed in the entire playoff field meaning that the Rockets will have home court advantage no matter who they come across. That’s because the Golden State Warriors had a couple weeks of severe bad luck with injuries plaguing the team’s superstars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. Even though the Warrriors dropped several games, they’re still locked as the #2 seed in the West.
Out in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors again are one of the top teams and this year’s bracket is looking promising for Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. With the recent news that Kyrie Irving will miss the playoffs, that completely changes this year’s playoff our look. Add to that, the inconsistency with which LeBron’s Cavs are playing (but not Lebron, he’s been unbelievable) and the Raptors’ prospects have never looked better. Will the 2018 NBA playoffs be when the Raptors get to the NBA Finals; taking advantage of the Eastern Conference’s uncertainty?
Print Your 2018 NBA Playoff Bracket
2018 NBA Playoff Schedule
NBA First Round Schedule The NBA’s first round will begin April 15th, 2018 until all rounds are complete. A series ends when one team reaches four games in the best of seven series.
Conf. | Seed | Team | vs | Seed | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
West | #1 | Houston Rockets | vs | #8 | Seed |
West | #2 | Golden State Warriors | vs | #7 | Seed |
West | #3 | Seed | vs | #6 | Seed |
West | #4 | Seed | vs | #5 | Seed |
East | #1 | Toronto Raptors | vs | #8 | Seed |
East | #2 | Seed | vs | #7 | Seed |
East | #3 | Seed | vs | #6 | Seed |
East | #4 | Seed | vs | #5 | Seed |
2018 NBA Playoffs (Conference Semifinals Round) Schedule
Dates: Depending on when the first round ends, the Conference Simfinals.
2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals Round Bracket
Who Advances | Team | vs | Who Advances | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | #1 or #8 Seed | vs | Winner | #4 or #5 Seed |
Winner | #2 or #7 Seed | vs | Winner | #3 or #6 Seed |
2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals Round Schedule
Who Advances | Team | vs | Who Advances | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | #1 or #8 Seed | vs | Winner | #4 or #5 Seed |
Winner | #2 or #7 Seed | vs | Winner | #3 or #6 Seed |
NBA Conference Finals Bracket + Schedule 2018
Dates: The start date of the 2017 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals. The dates for this conference finals depends on the rounds before it and can be moved up a week earlier. This round will be a best of 7 game series.
NBA Playoff Bracket for Conference Finals
Winner | NBA Playoffs West Semi #1 vs | Winner | NBA Playoffs West Semi #2 |
---|---|---|---|
Winner | NBA Playoffs East Semi #1 vs | Winner | NBA Playoffs East Semi #2 |
NBA Finals Schedule + Bracket
The championship series known as the NBA Finals usually begins on June 1st, but all that depends on when the previous rounds are completed. The NBA Finals feature the Western Conference Champions against the Eastern Conference Champion, and the championship round will be played in a best of seven format.
This year’s finals series poses some questions: LeBron has advanced to the last seven consecutive NBA Finals representing the Eastern Conference — will he and the Cavs be able to get past the Celtics and Raptors to make it eight years in a row?
Speaking of the Cavs, they’ve met up in three consecutive NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have been good this year, but something hasn’t been exactly right with the potential dynasty team. The question here is whether they can get it together in what everyone assumes will be a Rockets’ Warriors Conference Finals matchup? The huge story line here is whether the Warriors’ engine – Steph Curry — will be back in enough time from his MCL injury to get his timing and rhythm back.
Printable NBA Playoff Bracket for 2017-18
The beginning of the NBA playoff bracket looks exactly like the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen round, with eight teams on two sides of the bracket. As we provided during last year’s NBA’s playoffs and this year’s March Madness, Interbasket is publishing out our own NBA Playoff bracket available in the image format above or click here for the in PDF version of the bracket.