NBA Playoff picture: Which teams are left from the Eastern and Western conferences?

The NBA playoffs have been amazing so far. The drama has been on another level. Only one series has ended in a sweep. The playoffs are coming in on the crucial win-or-go-home games in the semifinals.

Eight teams remain in the field. Let’s take a look at the current NBA playoff picture.

Eastern Conference breakdown

All four teams remaining are still alive in the East. The No. 1 seed Milwaulkee Bucks fell in the first round to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, which opened up the paths in the East.

The Miami Heat are in control against the No. 4 seed New York Knicks. They hold a 3-1 series lead and have looked like the better team the entire series. The only game the Heat lost was when they were without Jimmy Butler

The Heat will try to eliminate the Knicks on Wednesday in Game 5. Miami will advance to the conference finals with a win in Madison Square Garden in New York. The Knicks are -3.5-point favorites.

If the Heat advance, it would be their third conference finals appearance in four years. Miami would not have home-court advantage in the next round.

The other East series took a huge turn as the Philadelhia 76ers dominated the Boston Celtics 115-103 in Game 5. The Sixers led the whole way, and the Celtics looked flat.

Philadelphia now has a 3-2 series lead and is going back home for Game 6 on Thursday. The No. 3 seed Sixers can close out the No. 2 seed Celtics with a win. The Celtics are -2 point favorites on the road on Thursday.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has averaged 26.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game in the series. Sixers center and NBA MVP Joel Embiid missed Game 1 and has averaged 28.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg in the other four games.

Western Conference breakdown

The Western Conference semifinals are littered with big stars. In one series, the No. 7 seed LA Lakers are led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors are carried by Steph Curry.

The Lakers pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback to win Game 4 to protect home court. The Lakers now have a 3-1 lead over the defending champion Warriors.

The series goes back to San Francisco for Game 5 on Wednesday. The Lakers could advance to their first conference finals since 2020 with a win. The Warriors are -7.5-point favorites. It will be interesting to see how much James and Davis play after both played more than 40 minutes in the Game 5 win.

The No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets took the advantage in their series against the No. 4 seed Phoenix Suns. Nikola Jokic posted another triple-double to lead the Nuggets to a win in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.

The Nuggets are undefeated at home in the playoffs. They also went a stunning 34-7 in Denver during the regular season.

The Suns will try to force a Game 7. Game 6 will be in Phoenix on Thursday and the Suns are -3.5-point favorites.