How Do the 2021 NBA Playoffs Work?
For the last few decades, the NBA playoff format has simply been the top 8 teams in winning percentage from each conference. That is until last year when they added a play-in tournament for the 8th seed. This year’s new format is similar to last year’s but they added another two teams to the mix. As we explained in the article linked above, the bubble format added a play-in for the 9th seed if they were within 4 games of the 8th seed. The 8th seed would then play the 9th seed for the 8th place playoff spot, in what was essentially a best of 3 series with the 8th seed starting with a 1-0 lead. Meaning the 8th seed would need to just win one game to advance to the playoffs and the 9th seed would need to win 2. We only were able to see 1 of these play-in games last year when the 8th seeded Portland Trail Blazers knocked off the 9th seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first game.
Now, this year is a little different. Instead of a play-in for just the 8th seed, the NBA threw the 7th seed up for grabs as well. This means the number of teams involved will double from 2 to 4. The 7th through 10th highest winning percentages in each conference will participate in the play-in tournament. The biggest change here is that there is no requirement to be within a certain number of games of the 7th or 8th seed like there was last year, which means we are guaranteed to have a play-in in both conferences.
Here’s where it gets kind of confusing because it doesn’t follow a normal tournament format. The 7 and 8 teams will play one game with the winner securing the 7th playoff spot. The NBA worked day and night with the creative team to come up with the name for this one… This is called the “Seven-Eight Game”. Other names also considered were the Eight-Seven Game, the seven vs eight-game, and the race to seven mountain. The 9 and 10 teams will play each other in, that’s right you guessed it, the “Nine-Ten Game”. Rumors have been swirling that the NBA even reached out to the Washington Football Team for name ideas. The winner of this Nine-Ten game will face the loser of the Seven-Eight game to determine who will have the final playoff spot. This game will be called… the Play-In game. Which is weird because all of these games are in the play-in tournament so they all could technically be called play-in games.
This entire format could really create some interesting dynamics. The team with the 7th highest winning percentage, which last year was the Mavericks and Nets, could potentially fall out of the playoffs entirely with 2 straight losses. While the 10th team, who last year was the Hornets and the Suns, could grab the 8th seed with 2 wins.
After this play-in tournament, the playoffs will continue in their regular format with a best of 7 game series in every round. The 1 plays the 8, 2 plays the 7, 3 plays the 6 and 4 plays the 5.
Ultimately, the more teams that are competing for the playoffs, the better the experience is for the fan. With two-thirds of the NBA now participating in the postseason, more teams are playing in games that actually matter giving more players experience in the postseason. In the NBA, maybe more than any other league, experience matters.