NBA Playoffs 2021 Here’s how to play the postseason for the best basketball in the world
The NBA put an end to its regular season. The road that began before Christmas and ended on Sunday left the Rockets, Thunder, Timberwolves, Kings and Pelicans in the West, along with the Pistons, Magic, Cavs, Raptors and Bulls in the East. 20 teams that continue with aspirations to be champions.
As in 2020, the league will have its playoff, the Play In Tournament, although it will be of more teams than in the Orlando bubble, since there are four teams that fight in each conference.
The seventh and eighth will be measured to seek to be # 7, with the loser having one last chance against the winner of the 9-10 match, with the winner qualifying as eighth. Whoever loses the key 9-10 thinks about next season.
This leaves duels betweenLeBron y Curry, Westbrook y Beal contra Tatum, Grizzlies vs Spurs y Pacers vs Hornets to warm up engines prior to the start of the first round, which starts on Saturday.
In the East, the best team in the regular season were the 76ers. The Nets, despite constant injuries to their stars, edged out Milwaukee down the stretch to be # 2. The Knicks beat the final win over the Heat and the Hawks.
- Philadelphia 76ers 49-23
- Brooklyn Nets 48-24
- Milwaukee Bucks 46-26
- New York Knicks 41-31
- Atlanta Hawks 41-31
- Miami Heat 40-32
In the West, injuries sank the champions Lakers, who by tiebreaker criteria will have to go to the Play In tournament. Utah finished with the best record, ahead of the Suns. The Nuggets won third place because the Clippers preferred to be fourth and face Doncic’s Mavs, rather than a hypothetical conference semifinal against their neighbors. Portland completes the picture.
- Utah Jazz 52-20
- Phoenix Suns 51-21
- Denver Nuggets 47-25
- LA Clippers 47-25
- Dallas Mavericks 42-30
- Portland Trailblazers 42-30
Tuesday May 18 | Eastern Conference | (7) Boston Celtics vs (8) Washington Wizards | 6:30 PM ET | TNT
Tuesday May 18 | Eastern Conference | (9) Indiana Pacers vs (10) Charlotte Hornets | 9:00 ET | TNT
Wednesday May 19 | Western Conference | (9) Memphis vs (10) San Antonio | 7:30 PM ET | ESPN
Wednesday May 19 | Western Conference | (7) LA Lakers vs (8) Golden State Warriors | 10:00 PM ET | ESPN
Thursday May 20 | Eastern Conference | Loser Celtics-Wizards vs Winner Pacers-Hornets | 8:00 PM ET | TNT
Friday May 21 | Western Conference | Loser Lakers-Warriors vs Ganador Grizlies-Spurs | schedule to be defined | ESPN
The NBA playoffs will begin on Saturday May 22, with the usual best of seven format. This would imply that the teams that qualify directly will have five days of rest and there will be two defined series in each conference: 3 against 6 and 4 against 5, which will be the first four series for that Saturday, with Sunday having the 1 vs 8 and 2 vs 7 duels of each conference.
Eastern Conference
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (8) Second Winner Play In
(2) Brooklyn Nets vs (7) Ganador Celtics vs Wizards
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs (6) Miami Heat
(4) NY Knicks vs (5) Atlanta Hawks
Western Conference
(1) Utah Jazz vs (8) Ganador Segundo Play In
(2) Phoenix Suns vs (7) Ganador Lakers vs Warriors
(3) Denver Nuggets vs (6) Portland Trail Blazers
(4) LA Clippers vs (5) Dallas Mavericks
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