The inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament has reached its knockout round, which means things like point differential and total points scored — which were used as tiebreakers in group play — no longer matter. It’s win and advance from this point forward in the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament. The quarter-finalists are made up of championship contenders like the Celtics, Bucks and Suns as well as surprise teams who didn’t even make the postseason a year ago such as the Pacers and Pelicans. The Knicks, Lakers and Kings round out the final eight, with NBA In-Season Tournament 2023 quarterfinal games taking place on Monday, Dec. 4 and Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Boston clinched the No. 3 seed in the East bracket but is the +300 favorite (risk $100 to win $300) to win it all in the latest 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament odds. The East’s top seed, Milwaukee, follows at +340, while the West’s top-seeded Lakers are at +550, as are the Kings. Before making any 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament bracket picks or predictions, be sure to see what SportsLine’s advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 6 of the 2023-24 NBA season on an 86-50 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning more than $3,000. Anyone following it is way up.
Now, it has turned its attention to the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament bracket and locked in NBA picks for every NBA matchup. Head here to see every pick.
Top 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament predictions
One of the surprising NBA In-Season Tournament bracket predictions from the model: It is fading the Celtics even though they’re the favorites to win it all at +300. Boston went 3-1 in group play, with its one loss coming at Orlando. It earned the No. 3 seed, which means the Celtics will have to travel to Indiana in the quarters and face the NBA’s highest-scoring team. While the Celtics began the season 8-0 at home, they are just 6-4 away from Boston, so it will be quite the task for it to even advance to the semis in Vegas.
If the Celtics do manage to defeat Indiana, there are still lots of concerns with the team, despite their stellar start to the 2023-24 NBA season. Boston can get too infatuated with the 3-point shot as it leads the league in attempts despite being middle-of-the-pack (ranking 16th) in percentage. On the other hand, it ranks third in 2-point percentage but bypasses many of those shots, ranking last in 2-point attempts. Trading away defensive aces like Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III has also had an effect, as just two teams force fewer turnovers than Boston.
Given a tough road test in the quarterfinals and concerns on both ends of the court, the SportsLine model isn’t as bullish on the Celtics’ chances to win the in-season tourney as Vegas is. The model has the Celtics winning it all in 18.7% of simulations, meaning they aren’t a great value at +300, and there are far better options for 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament bets. See which other teams to pick here.
How to make 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament bracket picks
The model has made the call on who wins every other game in the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament bracket, and it thinks one double-digit long shot is an incredible value to win it all. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine.