2019 NBA playoffs brackets, predictions: Experts pick Warriors to win title again, disagree over their Finals opponent

The 2019 NBA playoffs are cruising along, and the action has not disappointed. Every higher seed has advanced to this point, which has made for an exciting second round so far.

In the East, the Bucks and Raptors each got off to slow starts in their second round series' but both of the higher seeds have seemingly bounced back as they both own a 2-1 lead over their respective opponents after three games. Out West, the Warriors are now up 2-1 on the Rockets after Houston was able to hold on for an overtime victory in Game 3, while the Trail Blazers survived a quadruple-overtime marathon on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets.

Prior to the postseason, we asked our panel of NBA experts to fill out brackets and tell us who'll end up winning the whole thing. The unanimous answer came as a surprise to absolutely nobody: The Golden State Warriors. However, there was a lot of disagreement about which team will face them in the Finals -- the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors or Philadelphia 76ers. None of our experts picked the Boston Celtics, who have had an up and down year, to get past the Bucks in the second round.

There were also a lot of upset picks, with the No. 6 seed Oklahoma City Thunder progressing all the way to the Western Conference finals in some of our experts' brackets.

Clearly, some first-round predictions went terribly wrong. Here's a look at how the CBS Sports NBA experts see this postseason playing out.

Raja Bell

NBA Finals: Warriors over Raptors

Upsets: Thunder over Trail Blazers, Thunder over Nuggets, Raptors over Bucks

Bill Reiter

NBA Finals: Warriors over Bucks

Upsets: Thunder over Trail Blazers, Thunder over Nuggets

Reid Forgrave

NBA Finals: Warriors over Raptors

Upsets: Thunder over Trail Blazers, Thunder over Nuggets, Raptors over Bucks

James Herbert

NBA Finals: Warriors over Raptors