Each club will play three games against conference opponents and a total of thirty games versus teams from other conferences. NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. The NBA unveiled the structure and schedule for the 2020–21 season today, which will include a Play-In Tournament to decide who will occupy the seventh and eighth playoff slots in each conference.
The play-in tournament will take place following the completion of the 2020–21 regular season but before to the commencement of the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs. The clubs that finish 1-6 in their respective conferences' standings will be assured postseason participation. If any club qualifies for both the NBA Playoffs and the Olympic Tournament, then its spot in the Olympics would be given to the next highest ranked club in its conference.
There is no set date for this event but it's expected to take place around April 23-May 5, 2021. The eight remaining teams will be divided into two groups of four. The group winners will advance to the semifinals while the third-place teams will contest for fifth place. All games will be played at a predetermined location on the weekend of May 4-5, 2021.
The play-in tournament will be shown live on TNT during the NBA playoffs as well as the Olympic basketball tournament. If an NBA team was still in contention for a spot in the Olympics after the play-in tournament had concluded, then that team would have been replaced by the winner of the play-in game.
The last time the play-in tournament took place was in 2009 when Toronto reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. LeBron James and company were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.
In an official NBA schedule, each team plays 82 games per season, including four games against each of its four in-division opponents (16 games), six games against each of the remaining six out-of-division opponents (24 games), three games against each of the remaining four out-of-division opponents (12 games), and two games against each of the remaining four out-of-division opponents (12 games). In addition, there are several games during pre-season and during lockout seasons that do not count towards a team's record. These include 12 preseason games and first round games of the playoffs.
The order of these games is random. However, the first game played by each team will always be at home.
There are several scenarios where a team might have more or less games than others in their division. Most notably, if one team gets into the playoffs early, they might have to withdraw someone from their roster to meet minimum requirements. In this case, they would be replaced with a lower seed. If another team gets into the playoffs late, they could have an opportunity to improve their seeding by beating some of the better-seeded teams.
Each squad plays 82 games, 41 at home and 41 on the road. Each playoff round can include up to seven games. Teams in the NBA conference finals have the option of playing up to 21 extra games. If a team wins four games in a row, then it will be considered as the champion.
The first game of the NBA playoffs is usually played on Saturday afternoon, with the rest being played over the next five days. The NBA Finals usually start on Sunday afternoons, with the first game going into overtime if necessary.
There are five possible outcomes of an NBA playoff series: you can win in three games or less, you can lose in three games or less, there is a winner-take-all game, there is a best-of-seven series, and there is a best-of-nine series.
All playoff games are played under one rule: no backboards. This means that all shots must be taken within the perimeter lines of the court (except for free throws), with no more than two players outside the line making any attempt to shoot the ball.
A best-of-seven series would begin with two games at each team's home arena. The seventh game would then take place at a neutral site if needed.
| 2020–21 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | December 22, 2020 – May 16, 2021 May 18–21, 2021 (Play-in tournament) May 22 – July 3, 2021 (Playoffs) July 6–20, 2021 (Finals) |
| Number of games | 72 |
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