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Revision as of 03:20, 3 June 2007
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The 2007 NBA Playoffs is the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2006-2007 season.
There will be four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket, but not always by basis of a better record. Nevertheless, the team with the better record in a matchup has home court advantage.
All of the games will be aired on either ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, or NBA TV in the United States, and on TSN, The Score Television Network, or Raptors NBA TV in Canada.
Format
Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involve nearly two months of play. The playoffs are conducted in four rounds of best-of-seven series. The three division winners in each conference, along with the five best non-division winners in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners and top second-place team are seeded first through fourth based on record, with the remaining teams seeded fifth through eighth on record. Up until last year, the division winners earned the top three seeds in the conference; this was amended by the NBA on August 2, 2006 to rectify the problem highlighted by controversy in last year's playoffs.[1] Under this new system, the teams with the two best records in the conference cannot meet until the conference finals, unlike last year, when the 63-win San Antonio Spurs and the 60-win Dallas Mavericks met in the conference semifinals.
In each series, the team with the better record (or which wins a tiebreaker, in the event that teams with identical records are matched) holds home court advantage, meaning that the seventh game, if played, is held in their home arena. The first two games in each series are played in the home arena of the team with home court advantage. The third and fourth games are played in the other arena. The fifth, sixth, and seventh games alternate between the two arenas. However, in the NBA Finals, the team with home court advantage hosts Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, while the other team hosts Games 3, 4 and 5.
Three lower seeds (Chicago, New Jersey, and Golden State) beat three higher seeds (Miami, Toronto, and Dallas, respectively), sparking a debate on reseeding.[2]
This issue was notable in the Western Conference semifinals, where the top two remaining seeds (Phoenix and San Antonio) and two lowest remaining seeds (Utah and Golden State) played each other.
Playoff qualifying
- Note: Teams in italics have clinched home court advantage in the Conference Finals.
Eastern Conference
Best record in conference
The Detroit Pistons clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and have home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
- Detroit Pistons (clinched Central division)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Toronto Raptors (clinched Atlantic division)
- Miami Heat (clinched Southeast division)
- Chicago Bulls
- New Jersey Nets
- Washington Wizards
- Orlando Magic
Western Conference
Best record in NBA
The Dallas Mavericks clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. However, when the Golden State Warriors defeated the Mavericks in the first round in one of the greatest upsets in playoff history [3] [4] [5], home court advantage for the remainder of the playoffs switched to the Phoenix Suns. After the Spurs' victory over the Suns, San Antonio now holds the home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
- Dallas Mavericks (clinched Southwest division)
- Phoenix Suns (clinched Pacific division)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Utah Jazz (clinched Northwest division)
- Houston Rockets
- Denver Nuggets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Golden State Warriors
Bracket
This is the outlook for the 2007 NBA playoffs. Teams in italics have home court advantage. Teams in bold advance to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Orlando | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Miami | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Cleveland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Cleveland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Washington | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Cleveland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | New Jersey | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Dallas | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Golden State | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Golden State | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Utah | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Utah | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Houston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Utah | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Phoenix | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | L.A. Lakers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Phoenix | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Denver | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Notes
- Houston and Chicago had home court advantage in the first round despite being lower seeds. Both teams had better regular season records than their opponents, but did not have the best record of the non-division-champion playoff teams in their respective conferences.
Eastern Conference
First Round
(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic's first playoff trip in 4 seasons was short lived as the top ranked Detroit Pistons dispatched the upstart Magic in 4 games. The Pistons recorded their first series sweep since sweeping Indiana in the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs. The series was also the first time Orlando forward Grant Hill had appeared in the postseason since leaving Detroit after the 1999-2000 NBA season.
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards
A rematch of the previous year's first round series was spoiled when Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were both forced out of the playoffs due to injuries received in the later parts of the regular season. Without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards found themselves unable to stop LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from sweeping them out of the playoffs. It was Cleveland's first playoff sweep in franchise history.
(3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
The Nets won the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs in their sixth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs. The series was the only one in the Eastern Conference not to result in a sweep.
(4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
The Bulls won their first playoff series since the 1998 NBA Finals and the retirement of Michael Jordan. Meanwhile, Miami became the first defending champion in NBA history to be swept in the First Round the following season.
In addition, Southeast Division champions Miami and other division qualifiers Washington and Orlando were swept (0–12) by Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit respectively, all from the Central division (12–0).
Conference Semifinals
(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
In a renewal of a rivalry from the early '90s, the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons faced off against each other, pitting former Piston Ben Wallace against his old teammates. The series began fairly one-sided as the Pistons took Games 1 and 2 in Detroit in blowout fashion, followed by a another convincing victory in Game 3 in Chicago. In all three games, the Bulls looked severely outmatched against the more experienced Pistons squad. Expectations were low for the Bulls since no NBA team has ever won a seven-game series after being down 3-0 (it has only happened three times total in sports history, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders, and the 2004 Boston Red Sox).
Despite the huge obstacle, the Bulls rallied to take Game 4 in a romp, and then proceeded to shock everyone with a blow-out victory in Detroit in Game 5. Despite the renewed momentum, the Pistons' playoff experience ultimately won out as they closed out the Bulls in Game 6. The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year.
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, while the Nets have lost in the Conference Semifinals in three out of the last four years.
Conference Finals: (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
Western Conference
First Round
(1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994, the second longest such streak in league history. However, the Warriors were heavy underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks despite sweeping the regular season series between the teams, as Dallas had one of the best records in NBA regular season history. Expectations of a short series were immediately dashed by Golden State's Game 1 victory in Dallas, behind guard Baron Davis and his rather frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 to tie the series at a game apiece.
But when the series shifted to Oakland for the next two games, a new X-factor emerged for the Warriors: their home crowd at the Oracle Arena. The electric crowd, which was the highest paid attendance crowd for an NBA game in the history of that arena, gave the Warriors a huge lift as they blew out Dallas in Game 3, and edged out a close victory in Game 4. As the series shifted back to Dallas, the top-ranked Mavericks found themselves one game from seeing their record breaking season end prematurely. The Mavericks gave their all and were able to stave off elimination in Game 5, but had nothing left in Game 6 in Oakland. The Warriors used a third-quarter 18–0 run and an unexpected collapse from MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki (2-13 from the field with 8 points) to finish Dallas and become the first eighth-seeded team to win a best-of-seven series in the first round, and just the third overall in NBA history, in one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history. The Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991.
Both 2006 NBA Finalists (Dallas and Miami) were eliminated in the first round. This was the first time since 1956 that this had happened.
(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers went up against the high powered Phoenix Suns in a rematch of last year's first round series, which saw the Lakers take a 3–1 lead before the Suns took the series in 7. Unlike the previous series, the Suns had near complete control of the series, taking the series in 5 games. The Suns advanced to their third straight conference semifinals by eliminating the Lakers in the first round for the second straight year. In Game 4, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash made a run at the record for most assists in a playoff game, finishing one shy of the record 24 shared by Magic Johnson of Los Angeles and John Stockton of Utah.
(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson got Denver off to a fast start, winning Game 1 and taking home-court advantage away from Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Despite the early letdown, the Spurs regrouped to even the series in San Antonio. The Spurs maintained their edge in to take Game 3 in Denver, and pulled off a come-from-behind victory in Game 4, thanks to late game heroics from Robert Horry. The stunned Nuggets could not recover from the Game 4 letdown and dropped Game 5 in San Antonio, marking the Nuggets' fourth straight season where they lost in the first round in five games. This is the second time in three seasons that the Nuggets lost the first-round series to the Spurs, after taking Game 1 in San Antonio (the first also happened in five games).
(4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
The resurgent Utah Jazz, fresh off one of their best seasons since the John Stockton years, faced Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets, who were seeking their first playoff series victory in 10 years. Home court advantage proved to be the key as the series progressed, as both the Rockets and the Jazz won closely contested matches in front of their home crowds.
As a result, the series had to go to a seventh and deciding game, which was played in Houston since the Rockets had the better record and thereby earned home court advantage, despite the division-winning Jazz being the higher-ranked team. Nevertheless, Utah overcame the Houston crowd and stunned the Rockets for the win on the road. The Jazz became only the second road team in history to win Game 7 of a seven-game series in which the home team won each of the first six games. Houston's Tracy McGrady lost his sixth straight post-season series (out of 10 seasons) and has not been out of the first round in his entire career.
After losing the series, the Rockets failed to reach a new contract agreement with their head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was subsequently fired. [6]
Conference Semifinals
(4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
Fresh off their stunning upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors faced a very different team in Utah. The Warriors continued the frantic style of play they exhibited against the Mavericks, but the Jazz, a more defensive-minded team, managed to shut them down to take Game 1. The Warriors tried to bounce back in Game 2, and took the Jazz to overtime. But the Jazz were able to prevail, thanks to the inspired clutch play of guard Derek Fisher, who arrived at halftime after being with his family in New York City because of his daughter's emergency eye cancer surgery.
The series shifted back to Oakland and the raucous Oracle Arena crowd, which lifted the Warriors to a resounding blowout in Game 3, a game which saw the Warriors hit a playoff record 11 threes in the first half, and saw guard Baron Davis delivering a series of spectacular plays. However, the Jazz were able to shrug off the crowd and handed the Warriors their only playoff home loss of the year in Game 4. The Warriors' magical playoff run ended as the Jazz finished them off in Game 5. The Jazz advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998.
(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
The highly anticipated match-up between the high-powered Phoenix Suns, led by two-time MVP Steve Nash, and the fundamentally sound San Antonio Spurs, led by three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, had high expectations before the series tip-off. The Suns were looking to make the conference finals for the third straight year, and also looking for their first Finals berth since 1993. The Spurs, on the other hand, were looking for their third trip in five years, and their fourth NBA title overall. The series received international interest with a playoff-record of 12 players originating outside the United States.[7] When the series ended, it had become one of the most hotly contested and controversial series in recent NBA history.
The Suns had their home court advantage quickly taken away from them as the Spurs took a tight Game 1, a game that saw Nash missing the final minutes for Phoenix due to a gash to his nose, which bled profusely. Nash and the Suns recovered to take Game 2 but after the game, Suns star forward Amare Stoudemire accused the Spurs, especially Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili, of being a dirty team. Despite the added scrutiny by the media circles, the Spurs took Game 3. The Suns, trying to overcome their recent failures against Texas teams in the playoffs (the Spurs and the Mavericks both defeated them in the Conference finals), willed themselves to a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2.
However, the celebration would be short-lived. During the closing seconds of the Suns victory, Spurs veteran Robert Horry shoved Nash across the sidelines into the scorer's table, which prompted a short on-court altercation, wherein Raja Bell received a technical. As this was going on, Stoudemire and Boris Diaw, who were on the Suns bench at the time, wandered away towards the altercation. Although they didn't get involved, they did break an established NBA rule prohibiting players from leaving their bench during an altercation. As a result, the NBA suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game (Horry received a two-game suspension). Severely undermanned, the Suns came into Game 5 with the task of beating the Spurs without their star big man.
Although the Suns were able to control most of the game without the suspended players, even taking a 16-point lead on the Spurs at one point, the Spurs managed to claw their way back and take a very close Game 5. Although Stoudemire and Diaw returned for the Suns in Game 6, the Spurs were able to close them out to advance to the Western Conference finals.
Conference Finals: (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
For the first time since 1990, neither the #1 nor #2 seed participated in the Western Conference Finals. However, the series pitted youth against experience as the up-and-coming Utah Jazz faced off against the seasoned San Antonio Spurs. Coming into the series, the Jazz were not given much of a chance due to their inexperience. However, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and the Jazz were able to hold their own against San Antonio for a good part of the series. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the Spurs took advantage of key stretches in the second quarters of Games 1 and 2 to blow the Jazz out and take a commanding 2-0 series lead heading back to Utah. The Jazz, who were undefeated at home in the postseason coming into the series, used the home crowd to take an impressive win in Game 3. The Spurs, however, proved to be too experienced as they responded with a grind-it-out Game 4 victory. The Spurs wrapped up the series in Game 5 to earn the franchise's fourth trip to the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals
Notes
- ^ Associated Press (2006-08-02). "NBA announces postseason seeding format change". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18544321/
- ^ espn.com, Nowitzki stumbles to 2-for-13 shooting in Game 6, accessed May 4, 2007.
- ^ espn.com, Jackson keys third-quarter run in Warriors' rout of Mavs, accessed May 4, 2007.
- ^ espn.com, Mavs' flameout leaves Dirk frustrated, Nellie avenged, accessed May 4, 2007.
- ^ Houston Rockets and Jeff Van Gundy to Part Ways, nba.com, accessed May 18 2007
- ^ espn.com, Spurs-Suns series highlights NBA's international scope