2020 NBA playoffs explained

NBA Playoffs
Year:2020
Season:2019–20
Dates:August 17 – October 11, 2020
Num Teams:16
City:Bay Lake, Florida
Winners:Los Angeles Lakers
Count:17
Second:Miami Heat
Semifinal1:Denver Nuggets
Semifinal2:Boston Celtics
Prev Season:2019
Next Season:2021

The 2020 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, hours after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.[1]

On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble.[2] This proposal was then approved by members of the National Basketball Players Association on June 5. Under this plan, the 22 top teams in the league at the time of the suspension (all the teams who had a mathematical chance at making the playoffs under the 82-game season) played eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding, with 16 of those teams playing in a conventional postseason tournament. If the ninth seed within a conference would have finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, they would have then competed in a play–in series.[3] The last time a play-in game was played to determine a playoff spot was in 1956.[4]

As part of the bubble, all playoff games were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.

All three games that were scheduled to take place on August 26 were postponed by a wildcat strike,[5] [6] in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the Milwaukee Bucks being the first team not to take the court prior to their game five matchup against the Orlando Magic. The games on August 27 and 28 were also postponed, with games resuming on August 29.[7]

The Toronto Raptors were defending champions, but lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals round to the Boston Celtics. None of the teams that made it to the conference finals in the 2019 NBA playoffs made the conference finals in 2020. These were the first playoffs since 1997 without the San Antonio Spurs, as they were eliminated from playoff contention on August 14, 2020, ending what was then the longest active playoff streak in the NBA and in the four major sports leagues in North America.

Overview

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

First round

Conference semifinals

Conference finals

NBA Finals

Format

See also: Suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season and 2020 NBA Bubble.

After the NBA suspended its season on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league started to explore implementing a special postseason format just for this year.[14]

On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble, with 22 of the 30 teams in the league, all clubs mathematically alive for a playoff spot under the 82 game schedule. Under this plan, the 22 teams played eight regular-season "seeding" games. A possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a de facto 1–0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed must win two in a row.[15] [16] The NBA's regular playoff format proceeded as normal. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.[2]

Under the NBA's regular playoff format, the eight teams with the most wins in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings were based on each team's record. Each conference's bracket was fixed; there was no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; the series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, were in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest), although since all games were played in the same location, this was merely a designated home court. Seeding was based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams had the same record, standard tiebreaker rules were used. Conference seedings were ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage went to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties were broken based on head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.

Playoff qualifying

On February 23, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[17] The Toronto Raptors,[18] Los Angeles Lakers,[19] and Boston Celtics[20] subsequently clinched playoff berths before the season was suspended on March 11.[14]

Denotes team that clinched a playoff berth prior to the March 11 suspension of the season
Denotes team that automatically clinched a playoff berth or a division title on the June approval of the 22-team plan to resume the season

Eastern Conference

Seed Team Record Clinched
Playoff berth Division title Best record
in conference
Best record
in NBA
1 56–17 February 23† June 4* August 6[21] August 8
2 53–19 March 5† August 9
3 48–24 March 10†
4 45–28 June 4*
5 44–29 June 4* June 4*
6 43–30 June 4*
7 35–37 August 7[22]
8 33–40 August 7[23]

Western Conference

Seed Team Record Clinched
Play-inPlayoff berth Division title Best record
in conference
Best record
in NBA
1 52–19 March 6† August 3[24] August 3
2 49–23 June 4*
3 46–27 June 4* August 10
4 44–28 June 4* August 9
5 44–28 June 4*
6 44–28June 4*
7 43–32 August 2[25]
8 35–39 August 13 August 15
9 34–39 August 13

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.

Notes and References

  1. NBA to suspend season following tonight's games. National Basketball Association. March 11, 2020. March 12, 2020.
  2. News: NBA approves 22-team format to finish season. ESPN. June 4, 2020. June 4, 2020.
  3. News: NBPA reps vote to approve 22-team format to finish season. June 5, 2020.
  4. Web site: How the Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Suns make the West play-in. ESPN. August 11, 2020. August 12, 2020.
  5. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/08/26/nba-season-is-suddenly-on-the-brink/ NBA season is suddenly on the brink
  6. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/nba-teams-strike-for-black-lives.html NBA Teams Are On Strike Over Police Brutality
  7. Web site: NBA, NBPA announce playoffs to resume Saturday, new initiatives. Tim. Bontemps. ESPN. August 28, 2020.
  8. Web site: N.B.A. 'Boycott' or Strike: What's the Difference? . Taylor . Derrick Bryson . August 27, 2020 . . September 13, 2020.
  9. Web site: Milwaukee Bucks players make statement on boycott . Helin . Kurt . August 26, 2020 . Yahoo.com . August 27, 2020 . August 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827010115/https://sports.yahoo.com/milwaukee-bucks-players-statement-boycott-003947079.html . dead .
  10. Web site: Tyler Herro set the NBA rookie scoring record for a conference finals. Rookie Wire. September 23, 2020. September 29, 2020.
  11. Web site: NBA Playoffs 2020: Miami Heat rookie Tyler Herro put himself in the record books with historic Game 4 performance. Sporting News.com. September 23, 2020. September 29, 2020.
  12. Web site: Tyler Herro becomes Youngest Player to Start in NBA Finals. Slam Online. October 3, 2020. October 5, 2020.
  13. Web site: Jimmy Butler logs 3rd 40-point triple-double in NBA Finals history. NBA.com. October 4, 2020. October 6, 2020.
  14. News: Zillgitt. Jeff. What's next for NBA, teams, players during coronavirus hiatus?. USA Today. March 12, 2020. March 25, 2020.
  15. Web site: Adams . Jonathan . 2020-08-13 . NBA Play-in Game Rules: How Does Playoff Tournament Work in Bubble? . 2023-02-25 . Heavy.com . en-US.
  16. Web site: Adams . Jonathan . 2020-08-15 . NBA Play-in Game: What Happens if Blazers-Grizzlies Win or Lose? . 2023-02-25 . Heavy.com . en-US.
  17. Web site: Bucks earliest to clinch playoff berth in 15 years. ESPN. February 23, 2020. February 23, 2020.
  18. Web site: Raptors clinch playoff spot with win over Warriors. TSN.ca. March 6, 2020. March 6, 2020.
  19. Web site: Lakers Clinch 1st Playoff Berth Since 2013 with Win over Giannis, Bucks. Bleacher Report. March 7, 2020. March 7, 2020.
  20. Web site: Celtics Clinch Playoff Spot With Win Over Pacers. Sports Illustrated. March 10, 2020. March 10, 2020.
  21. News: Giannis Antetokounmpo says Bucks' biggest obstacle after clinching 1-seed 'is ourselves'. ESPN. August 6, 2020. August 7, 2020.
  22. News: Nets 'took care of business' in clinching playoff spot, Jacque Vaughn says. ESPN. August 7, 2020. August 7, 2020.
  23. News: Holiday scores 28; Pelicans top Wizards without Williamson. ESPN. August 7, 2020. August 7, 2020.
  24. News: Lakers beat Jazz 116–108 to clinch top seed in West. ESPN. August 3, 2020. August 3, 2020.
  25. News: Mavericks clinch playoff spot with Grizzlies' loss; drought to end at 3 years. ESPN. August 2, 2020. August 2, 2020.