{"id":41555,"date":"2025-05-18T18:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T18:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/41555\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T18:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T18:50:10","slug":"bracket-update-sundays-game-7-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/41555\/","title":{"rendered":"Bracket Update, Sunday’s Game 7 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NBA Playoffs<\/a> continue on Sunday with a high-stakes Game 7 showdown in the Western Conference Semifinals between the Denver Nuggets<\/a> and the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both teams are battling to face the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> in the Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

Before we preview tonight\u2019s game, here\u2019s a look at the NBA playoffs bracket.<\/p>\n

Updated 2025 NBA Playoffs Bracket<\/p>\n

The Eastern Conference Finals matchup is set. It\u2019s the New York Knicks<\/a> vs. the Indiana Pacers<\/a> \u2014 a rematch of last year\u2019s Eastern Conference semifinals series. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of history between these two teams. And their rivalry has been renewed in the Jalen Brunson<\/a>\u2013Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> era.<\/p>\n

For the full Eastern Conference Finals schedule, visit here<\/a>. Game 1 is set for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"2025The updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket after Friday\u2019s Knicks win, ahead of tonight\u2019s Nuggets-Thunder Game 7.<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 18 \u2013 Game Preview<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n

Series tied 3\u20133<\/p>\n

It\u2019s do-or-die time for the Nuggets and Thunder. The odds lead toward Oklahoma City \u2014 and may shift even further in their favor if Aaron Gordon<\/a> is out for tonight\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Gordon is listed as questionable for Game 7 and he\u2019s unlikely to play. The Nuggets forward is suffering from a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. <\/p>\n

Without Gordon, Denver too will suffer \u2014 in more ways than one. The Nuggets will be missing Gordon\u2019s clutch shooting \u2014 he\u2019s scored two buzzer-beaters this playoffs. But, more importantly, he\u2019s consistently been the third scoring option for a Denver team that lacks depth.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets have relied on Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> to carry them through the playoffs. He\u2019s averaging 26.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in this postseason. A monster performance from Joki\u0107 may be necessary for Denver to simply be competitive. But it won\u2019t be enough to win. <\/p>\n

Jamal Murray<\/a> will have to come up big. And the Nuggets will need a third big scorer. Christian Braun will probably have to step up this afternoon as he did in Game 6.<\/p>\n

For the Thunder, the formula remains speed, spacing, and ball movement \u2014 but that only works if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> gets help. Jalen Williams has disappeared in this series.<\/p>\n

But the Thunder are a much deeper team \u2014 even when the Nuggets are at full strength, with their bench consistently outscoring Denver\u2019s thin set of reserves.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets know what it takes to win. But they\u2019re a battered team facing a young, dynamic opponent. Expect Denver to lose by a high-single-digit margin. OKC will prevail this afternoon and move on to face the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

Series Prediction: Thunder in seven.<\/p>\n

Date and Time: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 3:30 PM Eastern<\/p>\n

Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK<\/p>\n

TV: ABC<\/p>\n

Streaming: ABC and ESPN apps, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, YouTube TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue on Sunday with a high-stakes Game 7 showdown in the Western Conference Semifinals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1431,877,7,187,762,152,6,11,1433,179,209],"class_list":{"0":"post-41555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-2025-nba-playoffs","9":"tag-aaron-gordon","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-denver-nuggets","12":"tag-jamal-murray","13":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nba-playoffs","16":"tag-nikola-jokiu0107","17":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","18":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}