Basketball : NBA Playoffs 2008 preview

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics	80.5	66-16
Detroit Pistons	72.0	59-23
Orlando Magic	63.4	52-30

Cleveland Cavaliers	54.9	45-37
Washington Wizards	52.4	43-39
Toronto Raptors	50.0	41-41
Philadelphia 76-ers	48.8	40-42
Atlanta Hawks	45.1	37-45

Indiana Pacers	43.9	36-46
New Jersey Nets	41.5	34-48
Chicago Bulls	40.2	33-49
Charlotte Bobcats	39.0	32-50
Milwaukee Bucks	31.7	26-56
New York Knicks	28.0	23-59
Miami Heat	18.3	15-67

Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers	69.5	57-25
New Orleans Hornets	68.3	56-26
Utah Jazz	65.9	54-28

San Antonio Spurs	68.3	56-26
Phoenix Suns	67.1	55-27
Houston Rockets	67.1	55-27
Dallas Mavericks	62.2	51-31
Denver Nuggets	61.0	50-32

Golden State Warriors	58.5	48-34
Portland Trailblazers	50.0	41-41
Sacramento Kings	46.3	38-44
Los Angeles Clippers	28.0	23-59
Minnesota Timberwolves	26.8	22-60
Memphis Grizzlies	26.8	22-60
Seattle Supersonics	24.4	20-62

Sixteen teams qualify for the NBA Playoffs, 8 from the Eastern and 8 from the Western conferences. The three division winners in each conference earn the conference's top three playoff seeds. The division winner with the best record is ranked #1. Remaining five teams are ranked according to their won-lost ratio, regardless of divisional alignment.

#1 Boston						#1 LA Lake.

#8 Atlanta						#8 Denver

#5 Washing.						#5 Phoenix

#4 Clevela.						#4 San Ant.

#3 Orlando						#3 Utah

#6 Toronto						#6 Houston

#7 Philadel.						#7 Dallas

#2 Detroit						#2 New Orl.

#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

In the event that two teams are tied in the standings, a series of tiebreakers is applied to determine playoff position:

a. Results of games against each other.
b. Higher winning percentage in conference games.
c. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division).
d. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference.
e. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference.
f. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed.

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.

2007 Playoffs results

finals:

San Antonio - Cleveland 4 : 0

conference finals:

Detroit - Cleveland 2 : 4
San Antonio - Utah 4 : 1

conference semifinals:

Detroit - Chicago 4 : 2
Cleveland - New Jersey 4 : 2
Utah - Golden State 4 : 1
Phoenix - San Antonio 2 : 4

first round:

Miami - Chicago 0 : 4
Toronto - New Jersey 2 : 4
Detroit - Orlando 4 : 0
Cleveland - Washington 4 : 0
Utah - Houston 4 : 3
Phoenix - LA Lakers 4 : 1
San Antonio - Denver 4 : 1
Dallas - Golden State 2 : 4

Basketball: NBA Playoffs 2008 preview