Remember when a No. 1 or No. 2 seed always used to win the NBA championship? Well, that's not the way it works anymore. In 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks posted the third-best regular-season record in the East and seventh-best overall – yet Giannis led them to the title. Last season, the Golden State Warriors had the third-best record in the West – yet Steph Curry led them to another crown. If you're hyped for another wide-open NBA playoff extravaganza, then stay here to learn more about some strong NBA playoffs betting promos & bonuses.
Now, to be fair, the Milwaukee Bucks posted the best regular-season record this season (58-24) and they entered the playoffs as the favorite at virtually every online sportsbook to capture the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in mid-June. Even the ESPN talking heads are touting them as the deepest and most talented team in the league.
But take a look at the landscape as the postseason gets underway. The Boston Celtics finished just 1 win behind the Bucks and posted the league's best points differential (+6.8 per game). 'Pro Basketball Reference projects the Celts as the team most likely to win it all at 27.4 percent.
Intriguingly, the Cleveland Cavaliers (14.7 percent) and Memphis Grizzlies (10.8 percent) rank 2-3 in Pro Basketball Reference's projections – and we haven't even discussed the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets (with two-time defending MVP Nikola Jokic) and the Philadelphia 76ers (with likely MVP Joel Embiid) and the Phoenix Suns (who finally have a healthy Kevin Durant to pair with Devin Booker).