2011 NBA Playoffs Schedule

Just as everyone starts recovering from 2011 March Madness, it will be time for the 2011 NBA Playoffs to start. This year’s playoffs will start on Saturday April 16^th, 2011. The three division winners and five teams with the best records from each conference will make the playoffs. Division winners are guaranteed to be seeded a minimum of 4^th in their respective conference independent of their record. The playoffs run for the months of mid-April, May, and finish out in the early part of June.

NBA Playoff Seeding Tiebreakers

The NBA playoff seeding is based on the team record with divisional winners guaranteed to be a #4 seed or higher. The following are the tiebreakers used to determine seeding in the playoffs in priority order:

Divisional leading team wins a head-to-head tie against a team not leading a division.
Head-to-head record(s) against each other.
Division record if each team is in the same division.
Conference record if division records are tied.
Record against other playoff teams in the same conference.
Record against other playoff teams in the other conference.
Point differential across all games.
In the event of multiple ties, as soon as one team wins a tiebreaker, the other teams start over at the first tiebreaker rule until broken out.

2011 NBA Finals

The 2011 NBA finals are the NBA championship and are a “Best of 7” match-up between the two conference champions. The games will be played on a 2 game, 3 game, 2 game rotation and will be telecast on ABC. The 2011 NBA Finals are now scheduled to commence on Thursday, June 2^nd, 2011 due to ongoing labor negotiations that could result in a league-wide lockout. The starting date of the finals could push left to May 31^st, 2011 if both conference finals end in 4 or 5 games.

2011 NBA Playoff Teams and Seeds

*Last Updated March 18^th, 2011

The following are the current seeds based on records and tiebreakers. This will be updated more frequently at the conclusion of the 2011 NCAA tournament.

X= Clinched playoff berth

y = Clinched divisional title and playoff berth

Eastern Conference Seeds

1 y-Chicago Bulls * 60 20 .750 – 80

2 y-Miami Heat * 57 24 .704 3.5 81

3 y-Boston Celtics * 55 26 .679 5.5 – 81

4 x-Orlando Magic 51 30 .630 9.5 – 81

5 x Atlanta Hawks 44 37 .543 16.5 – 81

6 x New York Knicks 42 38 .525 18.0 – 80

7 x Philadelphia 76ers 41 40 .506 19.5 – 81

8 x Indiana Pacers 37 44 .457 23.5 – 81

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9 Milwaukee Bucks 34 47 .420 26.5 – 81

10 Charlotte Bobcats 33 48 .407 27.5 – 81

11 Detroit Pistons 29 52 0.358 31.5 – 81

12 New Jersey Nets 24 57 .296 36.5 – 81

13 Washington Wizards 23 58 .284 37.5 – 81

14 Toronto Raptors 22 59 .272 38.5 – 81

15 Cleveland Cavaliers 18 63 0.222 42.5 – 81

Western Conference Seeds

1 y-San Antonio Spurs* 61 19 .763 – 80

2 x Los Angeles Lakers 55 25 .688 6.0 80

3 y Dallas Mavericks* 56 25 .691 5.5 81

4 y Oklahoma City Thunder * 55 26 .679 6.5 81

5 x Denver Nuggets 50 31 .617 11.5 81

6 x Portland Trail Blazers 47 33 .588 14.0 80

7 x New Orleans Hornets 46 34 .575 15.0 80

8 x Memphis Grizzlies 46 35 .568 15.5 81

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9 Houston Rockets 42 39 .519 19.5 81

10 Phoenix Suns 39 42 .481 22.5 81

11 Utah Jazz 38 43 .469 23.5 81

12 Golden State Warriors 35 46 .432 26.5 81

13 Los Angeles Clippers 31 50 .383 30.5 81

14 Sacramento Kings 24 57 .296 37.5 81

14 Minnesota Timberwolves 17 64 .210 44.5 81

2011 NBA Playoffs Schedule – Quarterfinals

* Note specific dates, times, and television networks will be released on Thursday by the NBA after the conclusion of the 2010-11 NBA regular season on Wednesday April 12th, 2011.

Western Conference
#8 Memphis Grizzlies vs #1 San Antonio Spurs
#4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #5 Denver Nuggets
#3 Dallas Mavericks vs #6 Portland Trail Blazers
#2 Los Angeles Laker vs #7 New Orleans Hornets

Eastern Conference
#8 Indiana Pacers vs #1 Chicago Bulls
#4 Orlando Magic vs #5 Atlanta Hawks
#3 Boston Celtics vs #6 New York Knicks
#2 Miami Heat vs #7 Philadelphia 76ers

2011 NBA Playoffs Schedule – Semifinals

Western Conference
#8/#1 Winner vs #4/#5 Winner
#3/#6 Winner vs #2/#7 Winner

Eastern Conference
#8/#1 Winner vs #4/#5 Winner
#3/#6 Winner vs #2/#7 Winner

2011 NBA Playoffs Schedule – Conference Finals

Western Conference Finals
Eastern Conference Finals