The 2025 NBA playoffs are officially underway. The Play-In Tournament is in the books with the Warriors, Magic, Heat and Grizzlies earning the final spots in the 16-team playoffs. All eight postseason series get started this weekend, and playoff action kicked off Saturday with four series: Pacers-Bucks, Nuggets-Clippers, Knicks-Pistons and Lakers-Timberwolves.Thunder-Grizzlies, Cavaliers-Heat, Celtics-Magic and Warriors-Rockets all get going on Sunday.The Western Conference is full of intriguing first-round matchups this season. The seventh-seeded and battled-tested Warriors are favored over the second-seeded but relatively inexperienced Rockets. The Lakers saw the playoff debut of Luka Dončić, who faced Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and a Timberwolves side eliminated by Luka (and the Mavericks) in the 2024 Western Conference finals. The 4-5 matchup between the Nuggets and Clippers could go either way with Nikola Jokić on one side and Kawhi Leonard on the other.In the East, our experts expect it to be a chalky first round. On paper, the Cavaliers and Celtics should be able to take care of business against the Heat and Magic, respectively. The Knicks lost the season series to the Pistons, but New York is heavily favored to win this best-of-seven matchup and set up a second-round showdown against Boston. Bucks-Pacers reignites a rivalry in the 4-5 matchup, but Milwaukee will be without Damian Lillard to start the series.But, as we learn each and every year, anything can happen in the playoffs.
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