Basketball: NBA Playoffs 2011 preview

Eastern Conference Chicago Bulls 75.6 62-20 Miami Heat 70.7 58-24 Boston Celtics 68.3 56-26 Orlando Magic 63.4 52-30 Atlanta Hawks 53.7 44-38 New York Knicks 51.2 42-40 Philadelphia 76-ers 50.0 41-41 Indiana Pacers 45.1 37-45 Milwaukee Bucks 42.7 35-47 Charlotte Bobcats 41.5 34-48 Detroit Pistons 36.6 30-52 New Jersey Nets 29.3 24-58 Washington Wizards 28.0 23-59 Toronto Raptors 26.8 22-60 Cleveland Cavaliers 23.2 19-63

Western Conference San Antonio Spurs 74.4 61-21 Los Angeles Lakers 69.5 57-25 Oklahoma City 67.1 55-27 Dallas Mavericks 69.5 57-25 Denver Nuggets 61.0 50-32 Portland Trailblazers 58.5 48-34 New Orleans Hornets 56.1 46-36 Memphis Grizzlies 56.1 46-36 Houston Rockets 52.4 43-39 Phoenix Suns 48.8 40-42 Utah Jazz 47.6 39-43 Golden State Warriors 43.9 36-46 Los Angeles Clippers 39.0 32-50 Sacramento Kings 29.3 24-58 Minnesota 20.7 17-65

The 3 division winners and 5 other teams with the most wins from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record. A division champion is guaranteed to be ranked at least fourth, regardless of their record and their winnings.

 

#1 Chicago						#1 San Ant.
#8 Indiana						#8 Memphis
#5 Atlanta						#5 Denver
#4 Orlando						#4 Oklahoma
#3 Boston						#3 Dallas
#6 New York						#6 Portland
#7 Philadel.						#7 New Orl.
#2 Miami						#2 LA Lakers

 

#1 in each conference will play #8 in their conference, #2 plays #7, #3 plays #6 and #4 plays #5. In the Conference Semifinals, the winner of #1 vs. #8 plays the winner of #4 vs. #5, and the winner of #2 vs. #7 plays the winner of #3 vs. #6. The winners of the Conference Semifinals then meet in the Conference Finals. Winners in the Eastern and Western conferences advancing to the NBA Finals.

NBA tie-breaking procedure

a. Division leader wins tie against team not leading a division
b. Results of games against each other.
c. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division).
d. Higher winning percentage in conference games.
e. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference.
f. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference.
g. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed.

If there were more than two teams tied, the team that wins the tiebreaker get the highest seed, while the other teams were re-broken. Since the three division winners were guaranteed a spot in the top four, ties to determine the division winners had to be broken before any other ties.

Playoffs format

All rounds of the NBA Playoffs are best-of-7 games. This means, the team that is the first to win four games out of seven is the winner of that round. The First Round, the Conference Semifinals and the Conference Finals are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. The NBA Finals are played on a 2-3-2 basis. Teams with the better record during the regular season gained home-court advantage.