Full NBA In-Season Tournament Bracket Predictions Ahead of Knockout Round

With group play officially over for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, we now move to the knockout rounds.

While all 30 teams entered the event, only eight remain. With six group winners (Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings) and two wild cards (New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns), we enter single elimination mode from here on out.

With some exciting matchups set for the quarterfinals, here's how the rest of the In-Season Tournament should shake out.

This is one the tastier matchups of the quarterfinals, with plenty of star power to go around.

Milwaukee and New York already played one thriller this season, with the Bucks surviving 45 points from Jalen Brunson to come away with a 110-105 win on Nov. 3 in the opening night of group play in the tournament.

Brunson should again have his way with a soft Milwaukee perimeter defense, and Julius Randle is playing much better now than he was at the beginning of November, with 23.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists over his last 10 games.

Still, the Bucks should be taking this game extremely seriously as they look to continue building chemistry around Damian Lillard.

Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 52 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against New York last time and now have Khris Middleton starting to look more like his All-Star self.

The Bucks win another tight one here.

Winner: Milwaukee Bucks

Although the Celtics have the better overall record this season (14-4 compared to the Pacers' 9-7 mark), Indiana went a perfect 4-0 during group play while Boston finished 3-1, meaning Tyrese Haliburton and Co. get to host this contest.

This does give the Pacers a fighting chance, as the Celtics are a perfect 8-0 at home this season yet only play slightly above .500 basketball on the road (6-4).

A big game will be needed from Haliburton, who has to go against the best defensive guard combination in the league in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

Indiana owns the best offense in the NBA this season (122.5 rating), although Boston's defense should provide the perfect counter and ranks third overall (107.1 rating).

Kristaps Porziņģis is sidelined with a calf injury, but Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and others can pick up the offensive slack with their big man out.

This is also where the experience of a Finals trip together will shine through, with the Celtics squeaking by the Pacers in what should be a high-scoring affair.

Winner: Boston Celtics

This is shaping up to be the best game of the knockout round—and possibly the rest of the tournament as a whole.

LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant is the gift that keeps on giving, especially after we saw how seriously they both took this matchup just a few weeks ago.

The Lakers defeated the Suns 122-119 on Nov. 11 in a group-play game, with James and Durant combining for a whopping 70 points overall. While neither may be entirely motivated by the prize money on offer, both are such competitors that we should see maximum effort for bragging rights.

The Suns still won't have Bradley Beal due to a low back strain, and the Lakers could be without Gabe Vincent (knee), Rui Hachimura (nasal fracture) and Jarred Vanderbilt (heel).

Assuming James vs. Durant is essentially a wash, the game will come down to the other stars (Devin Booker and Anthony Davis) and role players. The Lakers beat the Suns last time with Booker sidelined, and it's safe to say his presence is probably enough to make up the difference here.

Phoenix has been better on the road (7-2) than at home this season (4-4), a streak that will continue as it takes down the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Winner: Phoenix Suns

Don't be fooled by New Orleans' 2-0 record against the Kings this season. Sacramento will be hungry for revenge and now gets to host the Pelicans for the first time this year and has been far better at home (5-1 overall).

Stopping Zion Williamson will be priority No. 1 after the All-Star forward put up 51 points on 68.8 percent shooting overall in the Pels' two wins. While Domantas Sabonis can usually win the physical battle with opposing frontcourts, the combination of Williamson and Jonas Valančiūnas is one of the tougher tests he could face.

De'Aaron Fox is quickly cementing himself as one of the best guards in the NBA and will likely terrorize a soft interior Pelicans defense. Harrison Barnes, Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter can all space the floor and hit big-time shots as well.

When it comes to which team performs better in the clutch, there's really no contest.

The Pelicans have a lowly net rating of minus-13.5 in clutch situations this season compared to the Kings' sparkling mark of plus-12.3. While Sacramento isn't exactly known for its defense, a sixth-ranked clutch time defensive rating stands out in the early going.

The Kings will take this one at home.

Winner: Sacramento Kings

While it would be fun to have the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks here as well, a Bucks-Celtics matchup is the heavyweight contest most NBA fans would want to see.

A potential preview of the East Conference Finals, we've already got a taste of just how juicy this matchup will be.

Milwaukee and Boston engaged in battle on Nov. 22, with the Celtics holding off a fourth-quarter comeback to win 119-116. Six players in total scored 20 or more points in the game, led by Brook Lopez's 28.

We saw Jrue Holiday struggle against his former teammates (five points and one assist on 1-of-8 shooting in 35 minutes), although any butterflies from then are probably gone now.

While these two teams are almost unbeatable at home (16-1 combined record), this round is being played in Las Vegas, meaning there is no advantage for either side here.

We expect a better game out of Holiday this time around, and Lopez won't be dropping nearly 30 points again.

The Celtics move to the In-Season Tournament Championship.

Winner: Boston Celtics

It's a shame that Kings-Suns is only going to last one contest, as this has the potential to be a dynamite seven-game series come playoff time.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams; one that's already in championship-or-bust mode against another that should be hungry for another taste of the postseason.

De'Aaron Fox vs. Devin Booker is going to be a masterclass in mid-range bucket-getting, while Kevin Durant vs. Domantas Sabonis brings different styles to each team's frontcourt.

With this game being played on Dec. 7, there's also a (slim) chance Bradley Beal could return from a back injury, as this puts us around his three-week revaluation date.

While the Kings are the more cohesive unit right now, the Suns have the advantage in total firepower with Durant and Booker. We already saw them combine for 86 points in a win over the eventual champion Denver Nuggets last spring.

With so many players on this Phoenix team playing on minimum deals, the motivation is there to keep winning and increase the potential payout, one that reaches a minimum of $200,000 per player in the Finals.

The Kings will have no answer for Booker and Durant, who now get to play a "home" game in Las Vegas in the championship round against the Boston Celtics.

Winner: Phoenix Suns

Celtics-Suns is a potential NBA Finals matchup in June, with this meeting serving as a nice appetizer for what could be an amazing seven-game series.

Both teams are loaded with star power. Both teams have plenty of depth, veterans and good coaching staffs that are championship-ready.

The difference? Boston is simply the best team in the NBA right now.

The Celtics' 14-4 record is the top mark in the league. Their net rating of plus-9.7

Betting against the Celtics right now isn't a good idea.

We could still see a monster effort from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but Boston's roster is loaded with long, strong defenders who can help keep at least one in check. Phoenix's 18th-ranked defense could also struggle against a high-powered Celtics offense as well.

Boston wins the first In-Season Tournament and collects the $500,000-per-player prize money.

Winner: Boston Celtics