Basketball: NBA Playoffs 2013 preview

Eastern Conference Miami 80.5 66-16 New York 65.9 54-28 Indiana 60.5 49-32 Brooklyn 59.8 49-33 Chicago 54.9 45-37 Atlanta 53.7 44-38 Boston 50.6 41-40 Milwaukee 46.3 38-44 Philadel. 41.5 34-48 Toronto 41.5 34-48 Washing. 35.4 29-53 Detroit 35.4 29-53 Cleveland 29.3 24-58 Charlotte 25.6 21-61 Orlando 24.4 20-62

Western Conference Oklahoma 73.2 60-22 San Ant. 70.7 58-24 Denver 69.5 57-25 LA Clipp. 68.3 56-26 Memphis 68.3 56-26 Gold. St. 57.3 47-35 LA Lakers 54.9 45-37 Houston 54.9 45-37 Utah 52.4 43-39 Dallas 50.0 41-41 Portland 40.2 33-49 Minnesota 37.8 31-51 Sacram. 34.1 28-54 New Orl. 32.9 27-55 Phoenix 30.5 25-57

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 Miami						Oklahoma #1
#8 Milwaukee						Houston #8
#5 Chicago						Memphis #5
#4 Brooklyn						LA Clipp. #4
#3 Indiana						Denver #3
#6 Atlanta						Gold. St. #6
#7 Boston						LA Lakers #7
#2 New York						San Ant. #2

 

#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.