<p>Welcome to the postseason. Every franchise has played 82 games across the course of the regular season and from here on out, only the strong will survive. </p>
<p>Yes, it’s playoffs time. Both the East and West have already been whittled down to eight teams each (Play-ins pending) and there are some mouth-watering matchups on the cards.</p>
<p>There’s no two ways about it, this is high-stakes basketball - it’s kill or be killed. Who has the talent, experience and ability to survive the first round of the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba">NBA</a> Playoffs? Read our <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba-playoff-series">NBA Playoffs</a> first round tips and predictions below to find out. </p>
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<h2>How Do The NBA Playoffs Work?</h2>
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<p>Before we get into our tips and predictions, it’s important to highlight just how the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/nba">NBA</a> playoff system works. </p>
<p>It’s relatively simple, across both conferences, teams are seeded based on their regular season finish. They are then matched up by these seeds, with the highest versus the lowest (1v8, 2v7, etc).</p>
<p>Every round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four of the seven games progressing to the next round, until only one team remains. This team are then crowned champions. </p>
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<h2>Eastern Conference </h2>
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<p><em><strong>Milwaukee Bucks (No. 1 seed) vs Miami Heat (No. 8 seed)</strong></em></p>
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<p>The Milwaukee Bucks are still awaiting their round one opponents. But as the number one seed in the East, whoever it is that has to face them, surely also faces elimination.</p>
<p>In Giannis Antetokounmpo they possess one of the league's best players and are not only favourites for this series, but for the entire NBA championship. </p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba-playoff-series/new-york-knicks-vs-cleveland-cavaliers-7258357">Cleveland Cavaliers (No. 4 seed) vs New York Knicks (No. 5 seed)</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>This series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks will play host to a number of interesting battles.</p>
<p>First and foremost, you have Donovan Mitchell coming up against Jalen Brunson. Both players transformed their respective franchises this season and how they perform across these seven potential games will have a massive bearing on their outcome. </p>
<p>Next is the Cavs defence against the Knicks attack. The Cavs finished the regular season with the league’s best defensive rating (109.9). While the Knicks currently have the fourth best offense (117).</p>
<p>Whoever wins the battle between the unmovable object and the unstoppable force will surely win this war.</p>
<p>All in all, we like the Cavs, but they’re going to have to work for it and we predict they will need a minimum of six games to make it past the Knicks. </p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba-playoff-series/brooklyn-nets-vs-philadelphia-76ers-7258355">Philadelphia 76ers (No. 3 seed) vs Brooklyn Nets (No. 6 seed)</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>Despite losing Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant midseason, the Brooklyn Nets managed to hold on and make the playoffs. </p>
<p>They come up against the might of the Philadelphia 76ers in round one, who are spearheaded by MVP-elect Joel Embiid. </p>
<p>Embiid is finally healthy after being injured for the past three postseasons and he is playing the best basketball of his career. </p>
<p>It’s hard to see the Nets having much of an answer for the 29-year-old and we expect the 76ers to get the job done in five. </p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba-playoff-series/atlanta-hawks-vs-boston-celtics-7277927">Boston Celtics (No. 2 seed) vs. Atlanta Hawks (No.7 seed)</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>The Boston Celtics are set to do battle against the Atlanta Hawks who won passage through to the playoffs after defeating the Miami Heat 116-105. </p>
<p>Just like fellow eastern heavyweights the Bucks, Boston should be moving on with little to no resistance from the Hawks, as they have been one of the teams to beat all year. </p>
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<h2>Western Conference </h2>
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<p><em><strong>Denver Nuggets (No. 1 seed) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 8 seed)</strong></em></p>
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<p>While they are still waiting for their first round opponent to be confirmed, it’s safe to say it won’t be a nervous wait for the Denver Nuggets.</p>
<p>The Nugs have been a force out West this year as they surged to the top of their conference. </p>
<p>Led by back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic, it’s hard to see any of the Play-in hopefuls troubling Denver, who should progress with ease. </p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba-playoff-series/los-angeles-clippers-v-phoenix-suns-7273100">Phoenix Suns (No. 4 seed) vs Los Angeles Clippers (No. 5 seed)</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>Arguably the toughest match up to predict is this one between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers.</p>
<p>The Clippers can consider themselves unlucky to have such a tough clash in round one, especially considering Paul George is currently injured.</p>
<p>If they had drawn lesser opposition they could have potentially bided their time, hanging on until PG’s return and gear up for a deep playoffs run. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, that is not the case and they have to tango with the Suns, who thanks to some savvy mid-season pickups, including Kevin Durant, are looking too hot to handle at the moment. </p>
<p>The good news for the Clippers is Kawhi Leonard, who seems to have put his injury woes behind him and is playing as well as he has in years. </p>
<p>However, it’s hard to see a Clippers team minus Paul George match it with a Phoenix outfit that boasts Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul. </p>
<p>We expect the Suns to get it done in 5-6, in what is sure to be a highly entertaining series. </p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/basketball-us/nba-playoff-series/golden-state-warriors-at-sacramento-kings-7273205">Sacramento Kings (No. 3 seed) vs Golden State Warriors (No. 6 seed)</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>This West Coast war should be an absolute scorcher. Despite playing a much higher seed, it’s hard to bet against Golden State who in recent times have cemented themselves as playoff specialists.</p>
<p>With the likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, they have an abundance of clutch players, who live for occasions such as this. </p>
<p>Golden State also has the wood over Sacramento this season, winning three of the four meetings between the two sides in 2023. </p>
<p>We’re backing Curry and co. to take care of business, but don’t expect the Kings to go quietly, they didn’t finish third in the West by chance. This one is going to seven. </p>
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<p><em><strong>Memphis Grizzlies (No. 2 seed) vs Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7 seed)</strong></em></p>
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<p>The final team awaiting a survivor of the Play-ins is the Memphis Grizzlies. </p>
<p>That survivor is the Los Angeles Lakers, who needed overtime to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves in an all-time classic. </p>
<p>The Wolves leveled the contest with 0.1 on the clock, with Mike Conley holding his nerve from the line to drain three free throws to take the game past 48 minutes.</p>
<p>Despite this, LeBron and the Lakers got it done in OT and now face the Grizzlies. </p>
<p>With controversial star Ja Morant back from suspension, Memphis should be well positioned to advance, but the Lakers have been running downhill during the latter stages of this season. </p>
<p>With momentum and LeBron on their side anything can happen, but surely the Grizzlies will have too much overall quality in the long run.</p>
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