Every 2003-04 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 same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Detroit Pistons won the 2003-04 title from a regular season record of 54-28. 16 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every series below is taken from NBA.com; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Indiana Pacers | 4-0 in games | Boston Celtics | April 17 to April 25, 2004 |
| First round | Minnesota Timberwolves | 4-1 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 18 to April 30, 2004 |
| First round | San Antonio Spurs | 4-0 in games | Memphis Grizzlies | April 17 to April 25, 2004 |
| First round | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | Houston Rockets | April 17 to April 28, 2004 |
| First round | Sacramento Kings | 4-1 in games | Dallas Mavericks | April 18 to April 29, 2004 |
| First round | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 18 to April 29, 2004 |
| First round | New Jersey Nets | 4-0 in games | New York Knicks | April 17 to April 25, 2004 |
| First round | Miami Heat | 4-3 in games | New Orleans Hornets | April 18 to May 4, 2004 |
| Conf. semifinals | Indiana Pacers | 4-2 in games | Miami Heat | May 6 to May 18, 2004 |
| Conf. semifinals | Minnesota Timberwolves | 4-3 in games | Sacramento Kings | May 4 to May 19, 2004 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | San Antonio Spurs | May 2 to May 15, 2004 |
| Conf. semifinals | Detroit Pistons | 4-3 in games | New Jersey Nets | May 3 to May 20, 2004 |
| Conf. finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-2 in games | Indiana Pacers | May 22 to June 1, 2004 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Minnesota Timberwolves | May 21 to May 31, 2004 |
| The Finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | June 6 to June 15, 2004 |
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.