NBA Playoffs 2016: Postseason Standings, Championship Odds and Predictions

We’re only in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but it’s not too early to start thinking about which teams have the best shot at a championship.      

The Golden State Warriors have been the favorite all year, but a knee injury to Stephen Curry in Sunday’s Game 4 against the Houston Rockets has the team’s fans holding their collective breath.

The San Antonio Spurs quietly dominated throughout the campaign, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are definitely a contender due to their star power and the absence of a second true contender in their conference.    

Who will take it this season? Let’s review the results of the first round that have transpired so far, get some championship odds and then go through a round-by-round prediction for the remainder of the NBA playoffs.

Postseason Standings

Championship Odds

Complete OddShark.com title odds can be found here.

Predictions

First Round

The San Antonio Spurs have swept the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Cleveland Cavaliers needed only four games to dispose of the Detroit Pistons, so we obviously don’t need to make any predictions about those series.

File the Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder-Dallas Mavericks matchups in the “all-but-over” category, as both the Warriors and Thunder hold 3-1 series leads and look poised to close out their opponents in Game 5.

Even though Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry will have an MRI on Monday to examine the right knee he injured in Game 4, per Marc Spears, the Warriors had an explosive second half without him in Game 4. Putting together a similar performance at home in Game 5 is quite possible for the Dubs.

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers both possess 2-1 advantages in their series, and the teams’ four wins were by a combined 83 points, while their two losses were only by a total of 24 points.

Miami is a deeper, more experienced squad than the Charlotte Hornets, while the Clippers have more star power, as well as much more playoff experience than the Portland Trail Blazers. Whether the series take five or six games, expect the higher seeds currently holding leads to move on.

Two series are still knotted at two games: the Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors-Indiana Pacers matchups. My pick in the Atlanta-Boston series might be different if Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk were healthy, but …

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