Bracket predictions for 2024 NBA playoffs: Picks for East, West champions and NBA Finals

The 2024 NBA playoffs are two teams away from being set: The 8 seeds in the Western and Eastern conferences will be determined on the eve of the first-round series.

The Miami Heat, without Jimmy Butler, will compete against the Chicago Bulls for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The winner will advance to the playoffs and face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first-round series.

In the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings will play against the New Orleans Pelicans, and the winner will face top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

As the NBA transitions to playoff mode, the major questions are starting to take the spotlight: Even though the Oklahoma City Thunder is a young team, can they win the championship? Are the Boston Celtics going to carry over their regular-season momentum and become the dominant team in the playoffs?

It's difficult to predict the outcome, but here are the most recent predictions from various sources on the internet.

2024 NBA playoffs: Printable bracket with postseason schedule and seeding

Eastern Conference predictions

CBS Sports: Boston Celtics

Every member of the CBS Sports staff believes the Eastern Conference is the Boston Celtics' to lose. Jack Maloney writes: "Brad Stevens' offseason maneuverings have given the Celtics all the tools to finally break through and win a title with the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown core. Are there still concerns about their late-game offense? Of course. But they have been the best team in the league all season long because they have five legitimate options on offense, shoot 3-pointers at an elite rate and can dial it up defensively to a level most cannot reach."

Bleacher Report: Boston Celtics

Tyler Conway writes: "The Celtics are the NBA's best team on paper and in practice. They dominated the regular season to the point there is almost no historical data equivalent. The last team to win their conference by at least 10 games was the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, perhaps the greatest team in NBA history."

The Guardian: Celtics

Staff writes: "This could come back to haunt me, but it also just seems like their year. They won 64 regular season games while the next best total was 57. While I would pick Denver in a vacuum, they have seemed a half-step slow, and they’ve played a ton of games over the past year. Boston are younger, fresher and maybe hungrier. If Tatum can avoid wilting late in games and if Jaylen Brown can take care of the ball, they should win. But Boston need to take it, which is something they’ve avoided doing since the Garnett era. Boston over Denver in seven."

Western Conference predictions

CBS Sports: Denver Nuggets

Brad Botkin writes: "Denver spending the majority of the season on autopilot doesn't change the fact that it is the best team and Nikola Jokic is the best player."

Bleacher Report: Denver Nuggets

Tyler Conway writes: "This season has increasingly felt like a collision course between Boston and Denver, and there's no reason to back down now. Nikola Jokic is the NBA's best player and one of the greatest offensive forces the game has ever seen."

NBA Finals predictions

The Guardian: Denver Nuggets

Staff writes: "The biggest challenges the Nuggets face will take place long before they reach the finals, if they manage to get there. The West is an absolute gauntlet this season, far more difficult than the one they traversed last year. Denver will have to slay a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis, followed by either a tough, huge Timberwolves squad or Durant and Booker with a better supporting cast than last year, and potentially Doncic and Irving and a red hot Mavericks. Yes, the Celtics had a sensational regular season and will theoretically be better rested due to a far easier path to the finals than Denver, but beating the best of the best gives me more confidence in a team, and the Celtics simply won’t have to. I have the Nuggets in Game 7."

Pickswise: LA Clippers

Germantas Kneita writes: "The Clippers should have a real shot this year and definitely deserve love as an NBA Championship pick. They have elite wings, an elite playmaker in James Harden, firepower off the bench in Norman Powell and big bodies in Ivica Zubac and Mason Plumlee. On paper, they match up well with everyone, from the Suns to the Celtics. While the Celtics are outright favorites, they could potentially have to cross paths with elite bigs in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. Those are battles I doubt that Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford could be down for, especially with their respective injury troubles and age."

CBS Sports: Celtics over Nuggets

James Herbert writes, "If these two teams were playing this week, I might pick the Nuggets, even though Boston's statistical profile is more impressive. Their path to the Finals will likely be more taxing, though, and they have less room for error - if any of Denver's starters has to miss any amount of time, I'll be extremely concerned."

Bleacher Report: Celtics over Nuggets in six

Tyler Conway writes, "The Celtics have a cohesive, star-laden roster of their own and lost just four home games all season. In a season where only one team felt truly in a class of its own, it's hard to see anything but the Celtics hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy."

2024 NBA playoff standings

The top six teams in each conference automatically make the playoffs. Teams in positions 7-10 qualify for the play-in tournament.

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

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NBA Eastern Conference playoff bracket

Here's how the first round of the playoffs would shake out in the East if the season ended after Wednesday.

• No. 1 seed Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 seed (Winner of the Play-In Tournament)

• No. 2 seed New York Knicks vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers

• No. 3 seed Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers

• No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 seed Orlando Magic

NBA Western Conference playoff bracket

Here's how the first round of the playoffs would shake out in the West if the season ended after Wednesday.

• No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 seed (Winner of the Play-In Tournament)

• No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets vs. No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers

• No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 6 seed Phoenix Suns

• No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2024 NBA playoffs bracket: Latest predictions ahead of NBA Finals