2018 NBA playoffs explained
The 2018 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018, and ended on June 8, with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors sweeping the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0. Kevin Durant was named the NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year.
Overview
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
First Round
- With their first round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Pelicans won their first playoff series since 2008.
- Game 5 of the Sixers–Heat series was Dwyane Wade's final NBA postseason game. He would retire the following season.
- In Game 5 of their series against the Utah Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 25-point deficit in the second half to win the game 107–99.
- Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks ensured a 19th–straight postseason in which at least one Game 7 was played; 1999 was the most recent postseason to not feature a Game 7.
- Game 6 of the Celtics–Bucks series was the last game played at the Bradley Center.
- For the first time in his career, LeBron James was forced to play a Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs, courtesy of the Indiana Pacers’ 121–87 victory in Game 6 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. This would be their last postseason victory until game 2 of the 2024 postseason against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Conference semifinals
- Game 2 of the Raptors–Cavaliers series was the last game before the Air Canada Centre was renamed to Scotiabank Arena.
- Game 3 of the Raptors–Cavaliers series was extremely notable for LeBron James’ floater to win the game 105–103 for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- The Toronto Raptors became the first top seeded team to be swept from the conference semifinals as well as the first top seed to be swept out of the playoffs since the 2015 Atlanta Hawks (who were, ironically, also swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers).
- With their Game 5 win over the Utah Jazz, the Houston Rockets made the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2015.
Conference finals
- For the first time since 1994, the Houston Rockets held home court advantage in the Western Conference finals.
- Game 6 and Game 7 of the Western Conference finals was extremely notable for the Golden State Warriors’ second half comebacks to beat the Houston Rockets. The Warriors trailed the Rockets by as many as 17 points in Game 6 and as many as 11 points in Game 7 before coming back to win 115–86 and 101–92, respectively.
- Klay Thompson helped the Warriors force Game 7 by putting up another monster Game 6. He dropped 35 to defeat the Houston Rockets.
- The Houston Rockets set an NBA record 27 missed threes in Game 7. James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon shot a combined 4-34 from 3.
- For the first time since 1979 both Conference finals series went to a deciding Game 7.[1] [2]
- In both Conference finals series, the road teams won both Game 7s. In the other two instances in which both Conference finals series went to a Game 7, the home team won each Conference finals Game 7 in the 1963 and 1979 Playoffs.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors advanced to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearances. This also marked the first time the same two NBA teams met in the NBA Finals four seasons in a row.
NBA Finals
- Game 1 of the NBA Finals was notable for JR Smith's infamous play that cost the Cleveland Cavaliers the game in the waning moments in regulation (they would lose in Overtime to the Golden State Warriors). LeBron James scored 51 points in the losing effort.
- Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals was the last game LeBron James played as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- This was also the first time a team was swept in the NBA Finals since 2007. Like in 2007, the Cleveland Cavaliers were also the team that got swept in the 2018 NBA Finals.
- The Golden State Warriors won their second consecutive championship, their third in four seasons.
Format
Within each conference, the eight teams with the most wins qualify for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record.
Each conference's bracket is fixed; there is no reseeding. All rounds are best-of-seven series; the team that has four wins advances to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. Home court advantage in any round belong to the higher-seeded team, who has the better regular season record (number 1 is the highest). If two teams with the same record meet in a round, standard tiebreaker rules are used. The rule for determining home court advantage in the NBA Finals is winning percentage, then head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.
Playoff qualifying
On March 7, 2018, the Toronto Raptors became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[3] On March 30, 2018, the Houston Rockets clinched the Western Conference ending a three-year run by the Golden State Warriors as the top seed.[4] The Rockets clinched the best record in the NBA a day later on March 31, 2018. For the first time since the 1996–97 NBA season, two teams played their last game against each other for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs. The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 112–106 in overtime to clinch the final playoff seed in the West. This also ended Minnesota's 13-year drought without a playoff appearance having last played in 2003–04 season.[5] For the first time since the 2010–11 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers would miss the postseason following a loss to the Denver Nuggets on April 7, 2018. This is the first time since 1960 that none of the teams from New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago made the playoffs.[6] For the first time since 2005, both the Lakers and Clippers missed the playoffs in the same season.
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched |
|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record
in conference | Best record
in NBA |
|---|
| 1 | | 59–23 | March 7[7] | April 6[8] | April 6 | — |
| 2 | | 55–27 | March 8[9] | — | — | — |
| 3 | | 52–30 | March 26[10] | — | — | — |
| 4 | | 50–32 | March 22[11] | April 10[12] | — | — |
| 5 | | 48–34 | March 25 [13] | — | — | — |
| 6 | | 44–38 | April 3[14] | April 11[15] | — | — |
| 7 | | 44–38 | April 4[16] | — | — | — |
| 8 | | 43–39 | March 31[17] | — | — | — | |
Western Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched |
|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record
in conference | Best record
in NBA |
|---|
| 1 | | 65–17 | March 11[18] | March 15[19] | March 29[20] | March 29 |
| 2 | | 58–24 | March 12[21] | March 15[22] | — | — |
| 3 | | 49–33 | April 1[23] | April 11[24] | — | — |
| 4 | | 48–34 | April 9[25] | — | — | — |
| 5 | | 48–34 | April 8[26] | — | — | — |
| 6 | | 48–34 | April 10[27] | — | — | — |
| 7 | | 47–35 | April 10 [28] | — | — | — |
| 8 | | 47–35 | April 11[29] | — | — | — | |
Bracket
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Teams with home court advantage, the higher seeded team, are shown in italics.
Notes and References
- Web site: Barnewall . Chris . 2018-05-27 . NBA Playoffs 2018: Both conference finals reach Game 7 for first time in 39 years . 2024-04-28 . CBSSports.com . en.
- Web site: Hellin . Kurt . 2018-05-27 . Both conference finals reach Game 7 for first time in 39 years . 2024-04-28 . NBC Sports . en-US.
- Web site: Raptors beat Pacers to clinch No. 1 in East, set record for franchise wins. Sportsnet. April 11, 2018.
- Web site: Conway. Tyler. Rockets Clinch No. 1 Seed in Western Conference, End Warriors' 3-Year Streak. BleacherReport.com. April 11, 2018.
- Web site: Timberwolves clinch playoffs, end 13-year postseason drought. Armchairallamericans.com. Katie Nelson. April 12, 2018. April 13, 2018.
- News: Bucholtz. Andrew. This could be the first NBA playoffs since 1960 without New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, which might pose ratings issues. May 3, 2018. Awful Announcing. April 5, 2018.
- Web site: Toronto Raptors become first team in 2017-18 season to clinch playoff berth. NBA.com. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Toronto Raptors clinch Eastern Conference title. toronto.citynews.ca. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Boston Celtics clinch playoff spot with win over Minnesota Timberwolves. NBA.com. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Next step in The Process: 76ers seal playoff bid. ESPN.com. March 26, 2018. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Cavaliers Clinch Playoff Berth After Pistons Lose to Rockets. Daniels. Tim. Bleacher Report. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Cleveland Cavaliers clinch another division title. April 10, 2018. Hoops Habit. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Pacers clinch playoff spot in 113-107 overtime win over Heat. S. Nathan. March 25, 2018. Indy Cornrows. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Heat clinches playoff berth by beating Hawks. miamiherald. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Heat clinch 6th seed, prepare for playoff opponent. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Bucks Clinch Playoff Berth with Pistons' Loss to 76ers. Newport. Kyle. Bleacher Report. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Wizards clinch playoff berth in Wall's return, 107-93. Washington Wizards. February 24, 2019.
- Web site: Rockets romp at Dallas, clinch playoff berth. March 12, 2018. www.houstonchronicle.com. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Rockets clinch division title for just sixth time in history. San Antonio Spurs. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Rockets Clinch No. 1 Seed in Western Conference, End Warriors' 3-Year Streak. Conway. Tyler. Bleacher Report. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Warriors Clinch Sixth Consecutive NBA Playoff Berth. Golden State Warriors. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Warriors Clinch Fourth-Straight Pacific Division Title. Golden State Warriors. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Trail Blazers Clinch Playoff Berth with Jazz's Win vs. Timberwolves. Nathan. Alec. Bleacher Report. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Best in the Northwest: Blazers clinch division title, No. 3 seed. April 11, 2018. The Columbian. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Oklahoma City Thunder clinch playoff berth with win over Miami Heat. USA TODAY. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Utah Jazz officially clinch playoff berth with win over Lakers. April 8, 2018. The J-Notes. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: New Orleans Pelicans earn second postseason berth in five seasons. USA TODAY. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Spurs extend historic playoff berth streak to 21. April 10, 2018. ESPN.com. February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Minnesota Timberwolves clinch final playoff berth in overtime. NBA.com. February 25, 2019.
