How Will the NBA Playoffs Work?

The NBA playoffs are just around the corner, so let’s take a look at how they will work. The first round of the playoffs will be a best-of-seven series.

Introduction

The 2019-20 NBA season is still up in the air, but if and when it does resume, the playoffs will look a little different. Here’s everything you need to know about how they’ll work.

In recent years, the NBA playoffs have consisted of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first two rounds (the conference semifinals and conference finals) are played between the four division winners and the four wild card teams in each conference. The division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season record, while the wild card teams are seeded 5-8.

The two division winners with the best records in each conference then face off against each other in the conference finals. The winner of each conference final advances to the NBA Finals to face off against the other conference’s champion.

However, things will be different this year if and when the season resumes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s possible that not all 30 teams will be able to resume play. As a result, Commissioner Adam Silver has said that the league is considering a ” play-in” tournament for the final spot or spots in each conference’s playoff field.

Here’s how it would work: If the season is able to resume, there would be a standard playoff format for the top seven seeds in each conference (i.e. the four division winners and three wild card teams). However, for seeds 8 through 11 in each conference (i.e. those outside of the playoff field), there would be a mini tournament to determine who gets seeded 8th for the playoffs proper.

Specifically, seeds 8 through 11 would play each other twice apiece (seeds 8 and 9 would play each other, as would seeds 10 and 11). The team with the best record among those four squads would then earn seed 8 for the playoffs proper, while second place would earn seed 9 (and so on down through 11th place). It’s possible that this “play-in” tournament could include more than just four teams if there are ties for any of those final playoff spots; Silver has said that he expects there will be “a whole host of tiebreakers” used to determine which teams participate in these mini tournaments.”

What Happened to the NBA Season?

The 2020 NBA playoffs will begin on August 17th and will end no later than October 13th. This postseason format is unlike any we’ve seen before, so let’s break it down.

First, let’s start with the qualifying round, which will include the 16 teams that did not make the playoffs when the season was suspended back in March. These teams will each play eight “seeding games” to determine their playoff seeding. The games will be played at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, and all of them will be televised nationally.

Once the seeding games are done, the traditional playoff format will resume. The first round will be a best-of-seven series, followed by the conference semifinals (also best-of-seven), conference finals (best-of-seven), and finally the NBA Finals (best-of-seven). All of these series will be played at neutral sites, with no homecourt advantage for either team.

Now that we know how the postseason will work, let’s take a look at some of the key dates to keep in mind. The first round of the playoffs will begin on August 31st, with the conference finals starting on September 15th. The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on September 30th and conclude no later than October 13th. So mark your calendars and get ready for some exciting basketball!

How Will the NBA Playoffs Work?

The current playoff format in the NBA has been in place since the 2004-05 season, and it has produced some great basketball over the years. But with the coronavirus pandemic putting the 2019-20 season on hold, there is a chance that the playoffs could look different when they eventually resume.

So how will the NBA playoffs work? The answer is that it depends on when and how the season resumes. If the season resumes in late May or early June and is able to finish its regular season, then the playoffs will proceed as normal, with 16 teams qualifying for the postseason.

But if the season is unable to finish its regular season, then a number of different scenarios are possible. One possibility is that the playoffs could be expanded to include more teams, either from just the Eastern Conference or from both conferences. Another possibility is that the playoffs could be played entirely within conference, which would mean that only eight teams would qualify for the postseason.

The bottom line is that we don’t know for sure how the NBA playoffs will work until we know when and how the season will resume. But whichever way it goes, we can be sure that it will be must-see TV.

What Teams Will Be in the NBA Playoffs?

The top eight teams from each conference-based on their regular season record-will qualify for the NBA playoffs. The seeding will then be set for each team in regards to where they will be placed in the bracket. The team with the best record in each conference will earn the No. 1 seed, while the teams with the second-best to eighth-best records will earn the No. 2 through No. 8 seeds, respectively.

How Will the NBA Finals Work?

The NBA Finals will follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format, meaning the team with home court advantage will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary), while their opponents will host Games 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven series between the eight best teams in each conference—the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The four division winners in each conference are seeded one through four based on their regular season record, with the remaining teams seeded fifth through eighth.

Conclusion

Thus, in a nutshell, that is how the NBA playoffs work. The two teams that make it to the Finals will have gone through a grueling gauntlet of some of the best teams in the league, and they will have earned their spot in the championship series.