Will the Denver Nuggets become the first team since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and Michael Schmidt2018 to repeat?

Or will the NBA produce a different champion for the sixth consecutive season?

Can anyone beat the Boston Celtics and stop them from winning the franchise’s 18th title, which would break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most in NBA history?

Can a team emerge from the play-in game tournament and reach the conference finals or NBA Finals like the Lakers and Miami Heat did last season? And with so many tightly bunched teams based on regular-season records, does seeding matter less this season?

Those questions, along with others, will be answered as the playoffs unfold.

Here are NBA playoff predictions from USA TODAY Network staff writers:

Scooby Axson, USA TODAY Sports

First round

Celtics over Heat

Cavaliers over Magic

Pacers over Bucks

Knicks over 76ers

Thunder over Pelicans

Mavericks over Clippers

Timberwolves over Suns

Nuggets over Lakers

Second round

Celtics over Cavaliers

Knicks over Pacers

Mavericks over Thunder

Nuggets over Timberwolves

Conference finals

Celtics over Knicks

Nuggets over Mavericks

NBA Finals

Nuggets over Celtics

Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star

First Round

Celtics over Heat

Knicks over 76ers

Pacers over Bucks

Cavaliers over Magic

Thunder over Pelicans

Mavericks over Clippers

Timberwolves over Suns

Nuggets over Lakers

Second round

Celtics over Cavaliers

Knicks over Pacers

Thunder over Mavericks

Nuggets over Timberwolves

Conference finals

Celtics over Knicks

Nuggets over Thunder

NBA Finals

Celtics over Nuggets

Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

First round

Celtics over Heat

Knicks over 76ers

Bucks over Pacers

Magic over Cavaliers

Thunder over Pelicans

Nuggets over Lakers

Suns over Timberwolves

Dallas over Los Angeles Clippers

Second round

Celtics over Magic

Knicks over Bucks

Mavericks over Thunder

Nuggets over Suns

Conference finals

Celtics over Knicks

Nuggets over Mavericks

NBA Finals

Nuggets over Celtics

Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic

First round

Celtics over Heat

Knicks over 76ers

Bucks over Pacers

Magic over Cavaliers

Thunder over Pelicans

Nuggets over Lakers

Suns over Timberwolves

Mavericks over Clippers

Second round

Celtics over Magic

Bucks over Knicks

Thunder over Mavs

Nuggets over Suns

Conference finals

Celtics over Bucks

Nuggets over Thunder

NBA Finals

Celtics over Nuggets

Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

First round

Celtics over Heat

Knicks over 76ers

Pacers over Bucks

Magic over Cavaliers

Thunder over Pelicans

Nuggets over Lakers

Suns over Timberwolves

Mavericks over Clippers

Second round

Celtics over Magic

Knicks over Pacers

Thunder over Mavericks

Nuggets over Suns

Conference finals

Celtics over Knicks

Nuggets over Thunder

NBA Finals

Celtics over Nuggets