The National Basketball Association Playoffs or NBA playoffs is the much awaited event of basketball freaks. It is a best of seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams. These teams come from the Eastern and Western conference and the playoffs ultimately decides the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.
This year’s playoffs began on April 28. The teams are the same as the ones featured in 2011 with the exception of the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz while all eight from the east are the same as last year.
As was the case last season, both the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs finished atop their respective conferences, with the Bulls again clinching the top overall seed on the final day of the regular season. The Indiana Pacers opened the playoffs at home for the first time since 2004, while the Memphis Grizzlies earned home-court advantage for the first time in franchise history. For the fourth time since 2006, a division winner (in this case the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics) opened the playoffs on the road.
The team that has the best record in each of the three divisions in each conference is declared division champion. The three champions, and another team in the conference with the best record, are seeded one through four by their records. This guarantees that the division champions will be no lower than fourth seed, and also ensures that a conference’s two best teams (by record) are ranked as the top two.
As of now, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder have achieved great success in different ways compared to big-market teams. The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) is going to face the Thunders who are determined to bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Oklahoma City.
The San Antonio Spurs picked up an impressive 120-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals. The Thunder gave the Spurs a tough time during the final quarter, eliminating a double-digit deficit, but Tony Parker’s 34 points were too much to overcome. The Spurs take a 20-game winning streak to Oklahoma City on Thursday for Game 3.
Will the Spurs take home the coveted trophy once more? If the thunder can defend the three-point line and protect the ball, they’ll have a much greater chance to make it to the 2012 NBA Finals but if they can’t the Spurs will be in along with other giant teams.
To see more of the exciting playoffs, immediately get your NBA Playoffs tickets now at leading online ticket stores. Cheap sports tickets are available at Ticket Center. Don’t miss the chance to follow the teams who will make it to the NBA Finals!
NBA Playoffs 2012
