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NBA · 1973-74 · postseason

1973-74 NBA playoffs

Every 1973-74 NBA playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.

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The race, continued

The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.

Seeds against finish

Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.

The bracket

Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.

What happened

Boston Celtics won the 1973-74 title from a regular season record of 56-26. 8 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 3 rounds. Every series below is taken from NBA.com; nothing on this page is estimated.

Every series

RoundWon byResultOpponentPlayed
Conf. semifinalsMilwaukee Bucks4-1 in gamesLos Angeles LakersMarch 29 to April 7, 1974
Conf. semifinalsBoston Celtics4-2 in gamesBuffalo BravesMarch 30 to April 12, 1974
Conf. semifinalsChicago Bulls4-3 in gamesDetroit PistonsMarch 30 to April 13, 1974
Conf. semifinalsNew York Knicks4-3 in gamesCapital BulletsMarch 29 to April 12, 1974
Conf. finalsMilwaukee Bucks4-0 in gamesChicago BullsApril 16 to April 22, 1974
Conf. finalsBoston Celtics4-1 in gamesNew York KnicksApril 14 to April 24, 1974
The FinalsBoston Celtics4-3 in gamesMilwaukee BucksApril 28 to May 12, 1974

How “Seeds against finish” is drawn

The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.

The races that filled this bracket: East West