2025 NBA playoffs: Picking each series including the Finals - ESPN

Between the introduction of the NBA Cup and the play-in tournament, the NBA has given teams more opportunity to celebrate success during the grind of the regular season. Still, make no mistake: The NBA's best-of-seven playoffs is where the action means the most.

Because there are fewer series and matchups are so meaningful, we don't typically pick the entire NBA playoff bracket beforehand. But I'll be going series by series to identify how I think the postseason is most likely to play out. Naturally, there's a particular focus on what history can tell us about the first-round series that are already set, with an emphasis on what we can learn from regular-season meetings between the two teams and key matchups to watch.

In both conferences, there's a clear favorite, with the defending champion Boston Celtics seen as most likely to come out of the East despite being the No. 2 seed and an Oklahoma City Thunder team that finished 16 games atop the West separating from the pack. But there's still plenty of drama on the way to the Finals, including a few potential upsets. Let's break down the bracket.

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Eastern Conference
Western Conference
NBA Finals

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Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Miami Heat (8)

The Heat made some NBA history by becoming the the first No. 10 seed to advance to the playoffs through the play-in rounds. Their reward for beating Chicago and Atlanta on the road? A first-round series date with the Cavs.

Miami did beat the Cavs once this season, with Jimmy Butler III scoring 18 points in December. The Heat were also competitive in Cleveland in March, but a Miami team without Butler will be hard-pressed to score enough points to extend the