NBA Playoffs 2016: Updated Conference Brackets, Postseason Records and Odds

Don’t crown the Golden State Warriors NBA champions just yet. In fact, hold off on slotting them in for the NBA Finals as well.

The presumptive favorites for the 2016 Larry O’Brien Trophy took a shot to the chin on Monday night, courtesy of an Oklahoma City Thunder team that refused to cave when trailing by double digits and eventually carved out a 108-102 road win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder are making it impossible to sleep on the playoffs until June.

The Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors might have the air of a walkover for LeBron James’ top-seeded side, but perhaps whatever brilliant alchemy is powering the Thunder will inspire the representatives from the Queen City and turn that series into a fight.

For an updated bracket, check out NBA.com. Below you can find the postseason records for each team and championship odds for the four remaining contenders.

Note: Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Monday, May 16, at 7 a.m. ET.

Conference Finals Notes

The Thunder may be a 57-win squad with two of the best players in the NBA in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but they are essentially fulfilling the role of plucky underdog in defeating the 67-win San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals and stealing the first salvo of the conference finals against the 73-win Warriors. 

Durant and Westbrook overcame poor first-halves to combine for 53 points, and the Thunder won both the turnover and rebounding battles as a team.

Steven Adams has also picked a fine time to become a reliable source of scoring and rebounding. The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater praised his impact in Game 1: 

Steven Adams was a +19 in his 37 minutes. Becoming a monster. Playoffs are built for his rugged style of play.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 17, 2016

If Adams can continue to bully the Warriors’ big men, it may force Golden State to slow down its game and sacrifice some of its freewheeling, small-ball exploits. It’s not great for the Warriors when Stephen Curry leads the team with 10 rebounds and Andrew Bogut only plays 17 minutes and comes up empty in the scoring column.

“They have a pretty big …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com