- The 2023 NBA Playoffs Begin With Play-In Games Tomorrow
- The Milwaukee Bucks Are Favored To Win The NBA Championship
- The Phoenix Suns Are Projected To Win The Western Bracket
The final NBA Playoff picture has been set for the 2022-23 season. The play-in games will begin tomorrow night and will last through Friday, setting the 7 and 8 seeds for the Eastern and Western Conference brackets.
The defending NBA champions are the Golden State Warriors, and this year they’ve qualified for the 4-seed in the West. They are projected to face the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, besting the Sacramento Kings and the Memphis Grizzlies along the way.
The Suns’ fortunes changed when they traded for Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets on February 9th, but he has only played in 8 games with Phoenix since that time.
Pheonix’s record while KD is in the lineup is 8-0. The big “if” is whether or not he can remain healthy for the 2023 postseason. The Suns’ championship hopes are riding on Durant playing.
The current futures odds for NBA Playoff betting predict that the Eastern Conference Finals will be a matchup of the top 2 seeds – the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.
2022-23 NBA MVP Odds
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (odds removed)
- Joel Embiid (odds removed)
- Nikola Jokic (odds removed)
- Jayson Tatum (odds removed)
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won the NBA Championship in 2020-21 and appear poised to win their second Finals in three years. Despite being considered the best player in the game by many, Giannis is not the current frontrunner to win the Most Valuable Player honors this year.
This year’s MVP appears to be a two-man race between Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets – the top seed in the West. MVP odds are off the boards at NBA betting sites at the moment, but MyBookie has the above line listed without moneylines attached.
2023 NBA Playoffs Play-In Games
Starting tomorrow, the teams seeded 7 through 10 will battle to claim the final two spots in both the Eastern and Western Conference halves of the bracket. Betting lines for the first four play-in games favor the higher seed except for the Toronto Raptors, who have been granted a five-point advantage over the Chicago Bulls in the point spread.
Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat
- Point Spread: Hawks +5.0, Heat -5.0
- Money Line: Hawks +170, Heat -200
- Over/Under 226.5
- 4/11/23 – 7:30 PM
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Los Angeles Lakers
- Point Spread: Timberwolves +6.5, Lakers -6.5
- Money Line: Timberwolves +225, Lakers -275
- Over/Under: 229.0
- 4/11/23 – 10:00 PM
Chicago Bulls @ Toronto Raptors
- Point Spread: Bulls +5.0, Raptors -5.0
- Money Line: Bulls +160, Raptors -185
- Over/Under: 215.0
- 4/12/23 – 7:00 PM
Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans
- Point Spread: Thunder +5.0, Pelicans -5.0
- Money Line: Thunder +175, Pelicans -210
- Over/Under: 228.5
- 4/12/23 – 9:30 PM
Betting lines for the first round of the NBA playoffs will be finalized once the play-in games are complete. Odds for the 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5 seeds are already posted, as well as series prices and playoff specials.
Sources – ESPN, The Athletic, NBC Sports
NBA Odds Provided By Bovada (Bovada review), MyBookie (MyBookie review)
