Every 2009-10 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.
Los Angeles Lakers won the 2009-10 title from a regular season record of 57-25. 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 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-1 in games | Chicago Bulls | April 17 to April 27, 2010 |
| First round | Orlando Magic | 4-0 in games | Charlotte Bobcats | April 18 to April 26, 2010 |
| First round | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Oklahoma City Thunder | April 18 to April 30, 2010 |
| First round | San Antonio Spurs | 4-2 in games | Dallas Mavericks | April 18 to April 29, 2010 |
| First round | Phoenix Suns | 4-2 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 18 to April 29, 2010 |
| First round | Atlanta Hawks | 4-3 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 17 to May 2, 2010 |
| First round | Utah Jazz | 4-2 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 17 to April 30, 2010 |
| First round | Boston Celtics | 4-1 in games | Miami Heat | April 17 to April 27, 2010 |
| Conf. semifinals | Boston Celtics | 4-2 in games | Cleveland Cavaliers | May 1 to May 13, 2010 |
| Conf. semifinals | Orlando Magic | 4-0 in games | Atlanta Hawks | May 4 to May 10, 2010 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | Utah Jazz | May 2 to May 10, 2010 |
| Conf. semifinals | Phoenix Suns | 4-0 in games | San Antonio Spurs | May 3 to May 9, 2010 |
| Conf. finals | Boston Celtics | 4-2 in games | Orlando Magic | May 16 to May 28, 2010 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Phoenix Suns | May 17 to May 29, 2010 |
| The Finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-3 in games | Boston Celtics | June 3 to June 17, 2010 |
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.