With the Pelicans' 105-101 away win over the Clippers, all six of the NBA's playoff games this year are over, and the last two playoff teams in the East and West are coming out. In the following first round, the Eagles and Pelicans will be the Eighth Seeds in the East and West respectively, challenging the Heat and Suns, who are the first in their respective divisions.
In the NBA's more than seventy years of playoff history, the situation of division eight seeds below the gram and eliminating the division number one has only occurred 5 times, so this situation is often referred to as the "black eight miracle". So, will this year's playoff first round stage such a cold goal again? Or is the birth of the play-offs contributing to the emergence of the "Black Eight Miracle"? Or curb this possibility?
To answer this question, we must first explore "history" and see how the "black eights" of the past created miracles.
The NBA's first "Black Eight Miracle" occurred in 1994. It was Jordan's first season after his first retirement, and the supersonics of 63 wins and 19 losses in the regular season were considered by many to be the favorite for the championship. In the first two games of the series, the Supersonics faced the Eighth-place Nuggets in the West and successfully established a 2-0 lead, but in the next two games, the Nuggets held their home court and pulled the total score to a 2-2 draw.
In the fifth game of life and death, the Nuggets were united, and even Robert Pike and Beson Daly on the bench had 23 points and 17 points and 19 board contributions, respectively, tenaciously dragging the supersonics into overtime and finally winning 98-94. After the final whistle, Mutombo, who was still a novice in the league at the time, lay on his back on the floor, holding the ball in both hands and celebrating excitedly, which became a classic scene in the NBA.
The NBA's second Black Eight Miracle happened in 1999. At that time, due to the suspension of the league, the regular season shrank to 50 games, which made the regular season ranking more "accidental", although the Knicks only "barely" entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the East, but the performance of 27 wins and 23 losses was only 6 wins behind the First Heat in the East (33 wins and 17 losses), and with star players such as Ewing, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Larry Johnson, And Camby, they were also above the Heat.
In the first game of the series, the Knicks defeated the Heat by 20 points, stealing home advantage. But they also lost a home field (a 72-87 defeat in game four of the series) and dragged the series to game five. In the final tiebreaker, Houston staged a throw in the last 0.8 seconds, and the Knicks narrowly won by one point to advance to the next round.
The NBA's third Black Eight Miracle, which occurred in 2007. The Warriors, who were eighth in the West at the time, challenged the Western Conference Champion Lone Ranger in the first round of the previous year, and in that series, the Warriors, although ranked low, had a huge advantage - their coach Nelson Sr. was still the Lone Ranger coach two years ago, and he was extremely familiar with the old club, and the warriors won three times in the regular season.
In the first game of the series, the Warriors won in Dallas, and after losing the second game, they successfully defended their two home courts, taking the lead 3-1 to win the match point. The Lone Rangers won the next fifth game, but in Game Six of the series, With Byron Davis and Stephen Jackson playing well, the Warriors completely dominated the opponents, eliminating the Lone Rangers by an aggregate score of 4-2.
The NBA's fourth Black Eight Miracle happened in 2011. The Hornets and Grizzlies of the West at the time had both locked up playoff spots early a week before the end of the regular season, but neither seemed willing to face the Defending Champions Lakers, who had already decided to rank second in the West, in the first round. So in the last two regular season games, the Grizzlies "deliberately worked" and took a break from the main force, and finally successfully won the eighth place in the division and faced the Spurs in the first round.
The Grizzlies' choice to "pick an opponent" paid off as expected — missing the first game of the series due to Manu Ginobili's injury in the final game of the regular season, giving the Grizzlies a 1-0 start. Manu returned in Game 2 of the series to help the Spurs pull back a set, but the Grizzlies won all two of their next two home games, and while Gary Neal's magical three-pointer helped the Spurs win the G5 in overtime, they were eliminated by the tough Grizzlies by a 2-4 aggregate score.
The NBA's fifth Black Eight Miracle occurred in 2012. The 76ers, who were eighth in the East at the time, eliminated the Bulls in the East by an aggregate score of 4-2.
Injuries were a big reason for the upset, with the Bulls' young MVP Derrick Rose suffering a serious cruciate ligament tear in the first game of the series until the end moment, and the season was reimbursed, and Joakin Noah only played in the first three games due to an ankle sprain. However, the 76ers are equally respectable, and their performances at key moments in the game make people see the wind of the general in the young combination of Iguodala and Holliday.
Summarizing the above "black eight" teams, the reason why they can win the strong with weakness is of course part of the luck factor, such as the 76ers in 2012, and even the Grizzlies in 2011, but their own strength and state also provide the possibility of the final upset.
For example, the Grizzlies: At that time, they had "black and white bears" inside, and Conley, Mayo, Andron on the outside, creating a grinding city, and since 2011, they have reached the playoffs for seven consecutive years, once playing in the Western Conference Finals. In the year of the Black Eight miracle, they not only eliminated the Spurs, but then fought with the Thunder to the seventh game, and their strength was evident.
The 1999 Knicks are a more typical example. They are fierce in the offseason, they are ambitious, and if it were not for unexpected factors such as the shutdown, they might not have fallen to the eighth place in the division. They not only staged black eights in the first round, but also went black to the end, then swept the Hawks 4-0, beat the Pacers 4-2, and reached the Finals. The Heat, which is the first in the East, may not be able to go this far.
There are also the Warriors of 2007, who were able to beat the Lone Rangers in a cold way, not only taking advantage of the head coach, but also having a thick lineup. In the last 10 games of the regular season, they ended with 9 wins and 1 loss, 7 of which were double-digit victories.
Of the 5 teams that staged the black eight, 4 won at least 3 games after passing the first round, the Nuggets, Grizzlies and 76ers, and the division semifinals all played with their opponents until they grabbed seven, and the Knicks reached the finals all the way. From this point of view, it can also fully explain that their own strength is not vain.
However, the birth of the play-offs has curbed the possibility of similar teams to stand out to some extent.
The current play-off format is for teams in divisions 7 to 10 to compete for a playoff spot by up to two games. There is a game between the 7th and 8th places, and the winner directly locks in the 7th seed of the division, and faces the 2nd division in the first round of the playoffs. The losing side also has to play another game with the winner between the 9th and 10th places, who wins and who is the 8th seed in the division, and the first round challenges the division champion.
This format determines that the final no. 8 seed has the following two possibilities: one is that the team that was originally 7 or 8th in the division lost the first game of the play-off, but won the second game, and finally ranked 8th; the second is that the team that was originally in the 9th and 10th divisions won two consecutive games and successfully advanced.
The first of the two cases, although the team was originally ranked eighth or even higher in the East, but could lose the first game of the playoff, indicating that they were not in good form enough.
The playoffs were born two years ago (the playoffs during the 2020 rematch are just experimental products, the formats are different, not counting), and similar examples are only last year's wizards. At that time, as the 8th in the regular season, the Wizards lost to the Celtics in the first game of the playoffs, although the next victory over the Pacers who were not as good as themselves to win the playoff spot, but the first round against the 76ers, helpless, and finally eliminated 1-4.
The second of the two cases, although it was through two "win or go home" life and death battles to advance hard, but considering the limited quality of the opponents they defeated, such a victory does not have much gold content to speak of.
This year's two No. 8 seeds, both of which are the case. The Hawks, who finished disappointingly this season after a surprised move to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, qualifying for the playoffs only in 9th place.
In the first game of the play-offs, they defeated the unmoving Hornets, and today's opponent, the Cavaliers, also went high and low due to constant injury blows. Although Allen returned today, but obviously not in the best state, the Eagles in Capela injured early departure, once behind 14 in the case of reversal, in addition to their own resilience, but also directly related to the opponent's lack of experience and strength. But in a seven-game, 4-win series, they're unlikely to beat the Heat.
The same is true for the Pelicans, who first beat the Spurs, who didn't care much about the playoffs, and today beat the Clippers, who lackEd Paul George, but then they have a hard time moving on against the Suns. The Pelicans have improved significantly since bringing in CJ McCollum before the deadline, but even counting the two play-offs, the total record is only 16 wins and 14 losses, which is obviously still a certain gap from the "Black Eight" team.
Of course, there is another possibility, which is similar to the 2011 Grizzlies who deliberately lost in order to pick an opponent and let themselves fall to the eighth place in the division. And the emergence of the play-offs has basically blocked the emergence of this situation.
Taking this year's Nets as an example, as a popular contender for the championship, they finally fell to the play-off area due to a series of accidents, and if they advanced as the No. 8 seed in the division, they were actually the most likely to create the miracle of the black eight.
But the playoff format dictates that the Nets must first secure a playoff spot without putting themselves in a precarious position in order to pick an opponent. So, although many people thought before the game that the Division 8 seed ranking was actually more favorable (you can avoid the Celtics and Bucks), in the first game of the playoff against the Cavaliers, the Nets still went all out, and finally locked the no. 7 seed in the division.
In other words, the emergence of the play-offs helps to push the most powerful and in-form teams between the 7th and 10th places in the division to the seventh position in the division, and if it has to be said to promote the birth of the cold, it is also "black seven", not "black eight".