How Do The NBA Playoffs Work This Year?

The NBA playoffs have been changed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s a look at how they will work.

Introduction

The NBA playoffs are upon us, and there are a lot of changes this year. Here is a quick primer on how the playoffs will work.

The first round of the playoffs will be a best-of-seven series. The team with the better regular season record will be the home team for games one, two, five, and seven (if necessary). The lower seeded team will be the home team for games three, four, and six (if necessary).

The second round of the playoffs will also be a best-of-seven series. However, there is no longer any restriction on which teams can play each other. The two teams with the best records in each conference will still get a bye to this round.

The Conference Finals are also best-of-seven series with no restrictions on which teams can play each other.

Finally, the NBA Finals are also a best-of-seven series with no restrictions on which teams can play each other.

How the NBA Playoffs Work

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA regular season. It begins in April and ends in June. The top eight teams from each conference—Western and Eastern—qualify for the playoffs. The two teams with the best record in each conference are seeded first and second, respectively. These four teams receive a bye for the first round.

The Format

The 2020 NBA Playoffs will begin on August 17th and end no later than October 13th. The playoffs will be played entirely in the Orlando, Florida area at Walt Disney World. All games will be held at either the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex or the AdventHealth Arena. The format for the 2020 NBA Playoffs is as follows:

-The top two seeds in each conference (based on regular season record) will receive a bye into the second round.
-The next six seeds in each conference will play each other in the first round, with the three winners advancing to the second round to face the top two seeds.
-All playoff series from this point on will be best-of-seven games.
-The conference finals and NBA Finals will be played according to normal NBA Playoff rules, with the higher seed receiving home court advantage.

The Seeding

At the end of the regular season, the league standings are used to determine playoff seeding. The team with the best record in each conference is seeded first overall, followed by the next-best team and so on.

However, there is a wrinkle: if two teams from different conferences have identical records, they will be compared against each other based on their record against opponents within their own conference.

Let’s say, for example, that Team X and Team Y both finish the season with identical records of 48-34. But let’s say that Team X went 34-22 against other teams in its conference, while Team Y went 32-24 against other teams in its conference. In this case, Team X would get the higher seed because it had a better record against its own conference opponents.

The Schedule

Here’s a look at the NBA playoff schedule, which includes four rounds of best-of-seven series. All times are Eastern.

First Round:
April 13-28
Conference Semifinals:
April 30-May 12
Conference Finals:
May 14-26
NBA Finals:
May 28-June 17

Conclusion

The NBA playoffs are finally here after a long regular season. The playoff format is a bit different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the biggest change is the addition of a play-in tournament for the final two spots in each conference. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the NBA playoffs work this year and what you can expect from the postseason.

The biggest change to the NBA playoff format this year is the addition of a play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference. The tournament will be held from August 15th to 21st, and will feature four teams in each conference competing for those final two spots. The top two seeds in each conference will get a bye to the first round of the playoffs, while the third and fourth seeds will face off in the first round.

The first round of the playoffs will begin on August 22nd, and will follow a traditional seven-game series format. The second round will begin on September 1st, and the Conference Finals will start on September 15th. The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on September 30th.

So that’s how the NBA playoffs work this year! Be sure to tune in starting August 15th for all the action.