It will be Philadelphia's first appearance in the post-season since 2012, after an arduous five-year period of embarrassing win-loss records and the accumulation of high draft picks. They might not be the most feared team in the East, but they've arrived at a point that even the most optimistic of fans would have thought was still a year or two off. Simmons looks to be an unbackable favourite to win the rookie of the year award, averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, and 8.1 rebounds in a sparkling season which saw him record more triple-doubles in a rookie season than any other player, with the exception NBA hall of famer Oscar Robertson. Still the king: As long as LeBron James is playing, the Cavaliers need to be respected. Credit:AP Despite being the fourth seed, the Cavaliers are still the favourite - and they should be for every year until James retires. The top-seeded Toronto Raptors have a history of showing promise in the regular season before collapsing when the pressure is on, and the Boston Celtics would arguably have been the favourites to advance to the NBA Finals if not for season-ending injuries to their best two players, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Despite that, the Celtics have the best coach in the conference in Brad Stevens, who has a history of taking scrappy teams to success, which he did with unheralded Butler in the NCAA college tournament in back-to-back years.

Predicted Eastern Conference finals outcome: Cavaliers over 76ers. You'd be a fool to bet against LeBron James, but the young Sixers will put on a show. Dark horse: Raptors. It's odd to call the top seed an underdog, but few are giving the Raptors a chance to go all the way despite their impressive season. Making up the numbers: Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers. Western Conference A much more open bracket than the East, where you could make a case for four or five different teams making the finals.

Sidelined: Steph Curry will begin the post-season on the injury list. Credit:AP The Golden State Warriors will be without Steph Curry for at least one series, but should still have more than enough to get past the San Antonio Spurs, who are running on fumes and still missing their star player Kawhi Leonard - who is suffering from quadriceps tendinopathy, but his health and absence from San Antonio has been one of the more bizarre storylines of the season. Australian Patty Mills is still getting big minutes for the Spurs, but they look a shadow of the fearsome team that has dominated post-season basketball for the past decade. The Houston Rockets won more games than any other team this year, and the backcourt tandem of James Harden and Chris Paul is the best in the league - and they won two out of three against the Warriors in the regular season.