NBA playoff predictions: Forecasting both big matchups in the East
Kawhi Leonard breaks out his usual bag of tricks to lead the Raptors to a 4-1 series win over the Magic, the first 5-game series win in Toronto playoff history. (1:48)
Which two teams will win the Eastern Conference semifinals, and how many games will each series go?
Our ESPN Forecast panel predicts Celtics-Bucks and 76ers-Raptors.
Note: All predictions made before Game 1 of each series. Forecast predictions represent percentage of total votes. BPI and 538 predictions represent likelihood to win.
Likelihood of winning series
ESPN Forecast: Raptors 65 percent | 76ers 35 percent
Basketball Power Index: Raptors (75 percent)
538: Raptors (81 percent)
More:
Experts’ predictions for the conference semifinals
Raptors’ dominant defense on full display in series clincher
Game 1: Saturday | 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Likelihood of winning series
ESPN Forecast: Bucks 67 percent | Celtics 33 percent
Basketball Power Index: Bucks (76 percent)
538: Bucks (75 percent)
More:
Lowe’s prediction: Why Celtics-Bucks should be so close
A star is built: Giannis is the best basketball player alive
Game 1: Sunday | 1 p.m. ET, ABC
ESPN Forecast (percentage of votes)
Bucks: 67 percent
Raptors: 19 percent
Celtics: 14 percent
76ers: 0 percent
Basketball Power Index (projections)
Bucks: 55.5 percent
Raptors: 29.3 percent
Celtics: 9.9 percent
76ers: 5.3 percent
538 (projections)
Raptors: 54 percent
Bucks: 34 percent
76ers: 7 percent
Celtics: 5 percent
Image credits: David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images; Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images; Rick Madonik/Toronto Star/Getty Images