The Cavs and Pistons have both gone the distance two series in a row to get a right to go to the Eastern Conference Finals. I was curious what sort of impact having back to back 7 game series has had on teams in the past. Here’s a list of all 32 teams that has had to go the distance twice in a row and their eventual fate.

1960 St. Louis Hawks

Western Division Finals: 4-3 victory over Minneapolis Lakers
NBA Finals: 3-4 loss to the Boston Celtics in Boston
The Hawks received a bye to get around the Division Semifinals as the 1 seed
The Hawks played Game 7 against the Lakers on March 26, 1960 in St. Louis, then the Finals started on March 27th in Boston. Expectedly, the Hawks got blown out 140-122.

1962 Boston Celtics

Eastern Division Finals: 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Warriors
NBA Finals: 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers
The Celtics received a bye to get around the Division Semifinals as the 1 seed
Bill Russell doesn’t lose Game 7s

1966 Los Angeles Lakers

Western Division Finals: 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Hawks
NBA Finals: 3-4 defeat to the Boston Celtics
The Lakers received a bye to get around the Division Semifinals as the 1 seed
The Celtics finished their Division Finals on April 12th, the Lakers on April 15th. The Finals began on April 17th in Boston with the Lakers pulling off the victory.
Bill Russell doesn’t lose Game 7s

1971 Baltimore Bullets

Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the 76ers in Baltimore
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over the defending champion New York Knicks in NY (Knicks had knocked them out of the postseason two years in a row before that)
NBA Finals: Swept 0-4 by the Milwaukee Bucks

1979 San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the Sixers at home
Eastern Conference Finals: 3-4 defeat to the reigning champion Washington Bullets in Maryland; final score 107-105

1979 Washington Bullets

Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over San Antonio Spurs
NBA Finals: 1-4 defeat to Seattle SuperSonics who complete the revenge story of the previous Finals
Sonics also needed Game 7 to make the Finals (one day more rest than Washington), but completed their first round matchup in 5

1981 Philadelphia 76ers

Eastern Conference First Round: 2-0 victory over Indiana Pacers
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks
Eastern Conference Finals: 3-4 defeat to the Boston Celtics
Celtics had a bye in the first round as the 1 seed and a 4-0 sweep of the Bulls in the 2nd round, having not played since April 12th. Sixers swept the first round 2-0, then the second round went to April 19th with the Celtics series starting on April 21st. Philly however would go on to steal Game 1 on the road in Boston 105-104. Series ended with Philly blowing a 3-1 lead.
Nothing to do with the topic, I just feel obligated to include the scores of this series. 105-104 Philly, 118-99 Boston, 110-100 Philly, 107-105 Philly, 111-108 Boston, 100-98 Boston, 91-90 Boston. Boston went on to win the championship over Houston. Brutal.

1987 Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference First Round: 3-0 victory over Chicago Bulls
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the Bucks
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over the Pistons
NBA Finals: 2-4 loss to the Lakers
The Lakers swept the Nuggets in the first round 3-0, stomped the Warriors in the Semis 4-1, and swept the Sonics 4-0 in the WCF. Other than a 3-0 sweep of the Bulls in round 1, the Celtics had to go the distance.
Celtics finished their ECF on May 30th. Lakers finished their WCF on May 25th. Finals started June 2nd with a Lakers win.

1988 Los Angeles Lakers

Western Conference First Round: 3-0 win over Spurs
Western Conference Semifinals: 4-3 win over Jazz
Western Conference Finals: 4-3 win over Mavericks
NBA Finals: 4-3 win over the Pistons
First team with 3 consecutive 7 game series wins. Went the distance to complete back to back titles.

1993 Seattle SuperSonics

Western Conference First Round: 3-2 victory over Jazz
Western Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Rockets
Western Conference Finals: 3-4 defeat to the Suns
Every series went the distance for the 93 Sonics who could not hold on to beat Phoenix.

1994 New York Knicks

Eastern Conference First Round: 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Nets
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the Chicago Bulls
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over the Indiana Pacers
NBA Finals: 3-4 defeat to the Houston Rockets
One game against the Nets away from having to go the entire distance. Nets avoided the sweep with a 93-92 Game 3 victory in New Jersey. Knicks failed to complete the 3 consecutive Game 7 victories of the 87 Lakers.
On the other side: Rockets 3-1 victory over Portland, Rockets 4-3 victory over Phoenix, Rockets 4-1 victory over Jazz. Rockets finished business on May 31st, Knicks finished a grueling Pacers series on June 5th. Finals started June 8th in Houston.

1995 Indiana Pacers

Eastern Conference First Round: 3-0 victory over Hawks
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Knicks
Eastern Conference Finals: 3-4 defeat to Orlando
Pacers gave it their best shot with a 123-96 Game 6 victory at home to tie the series, but got destroyed in Game 7 in Orlando 105-81.

2001 Milwaukee Bucks

Eastern Conference First Round: 3-1 victory over the Orlando Magic
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the Charlotte Hornets
Eastern Conference Finals: 3-4 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers
Lost Game 7 in Philly 108-91

2001 Philadelphia 76ers

Eastern Conference First Round: 3-1 victory over Indiana Pacers
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Toronto Raptors
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Finals: 1-4 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers
Sixers had nothing for the Lakers who swept all three of their series in the conference

2003 Dallas Mavericks

Western Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over the Blazers
Western Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over the Kings
Western Conference Finals: 2-4 loss to the Spurs
The Spurs won every single series this playoffs 4-2, including the Finals over the Nets.

2005 Detroit Pistons

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-1 victory over Sixers
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-2 victory over Pacers
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over Heat
NBA Finals: 3-4 defeat to Spurs
Spurs wrapped up the WCF on June 1st in 5 games while the Pistons ended their ECF on June 6th. Finals started June 9th with a 84-69 San Antonio win.

2006 Phoenix Suns

Western Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Lakers (3-1 comeback)
Western Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Clippers
Western Conference Finals: 2-4 defeat to the Mavericks
Mavericks swept their first round against the Grizzlies but also needed 7 to get out of the second round vs San Antonio in their iconic matchup of the two best records in the West not being on opposite sides of the bracket thanks to divisions.

2008 Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Cleveland Cavaliers
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-2 victory over Detroit Pistons
NBA Finals: 4-2 victory over Los Angeles Lakers
After being brought to Game 7 by a Hawks team that probably never should have had a chance, the Celtics found their grit and blew them out of the water in Game 7 carrying that momentum all the way through to a championship

2009 Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Chicago Bulls
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 3-4 defeat to Orlando Magic
With no Garnett for the entire postseason the Celtics were unable to string together a deep run for a chance at a repeat

2012 Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-2 victory over Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern Conference Finals: 3-4 defeat to Miami Heat
The 76ers managed to upset the 1 seeded Chicago Bulls after Derrick Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 of the first round, but they still managed to give the Celtics everything they could handle.
On the other side of the bracket, the Heat managed to go 4-1 with the Knicks in Round 1 and 4-2 with the Pacers in Round 2. You know what Lebron did in Game 6 of this ECF. In Game 7 with the score only being a 1 point deficit, the Celtics only managed to score 6 points in the final 8 minutes as the Heat ran away with the series.

2013 Miami Heat

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-0 victory over Bucks
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-1 victory over Chicago Bulls
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over Indiana Pacers
NBA Finals: 4-3 victory over San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs demolished their competition on the other side of the bracket. 4-0 sweep of the Lakers in Round 1, 4-2 win over the Warriors in the 2nd round, and then another 4-0 sweep over the Grizzlies in the WCF. They finished their series on May 27th to the Heat finishing on June 3rd with the Finals starting June 6th. Despite stealing Game 1 on the road though, Ray Allen eventually happened.

2015 Los Angeles Clippers

Western Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over the Spurs
Western Conference Semifinals: 3-4 defeat to the Houston Rockets
The Clippers gritted out a gutsy Game 7 win over the defending champion Spurs in the first round, led by a game winner from Chris Paul. They also managed to go up 3-1 over the higher seeded Houston Rockets in the next round despite CP3 missing the first two games. They didn’t win.

2016 Golden State Warriors

Western Conference First Round: 4-1 victory over Houston Rockets
Western Conference Semifinals: 4-1 victory over Portland Trail Blazers
Western Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Finals: 3-4 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Warriors pushed for the all time win record in the regular season of 73-9. Go down 3-1 to the Thunder but come back to win. Go up 3-1 to the Cavaliers but blow it to lose. And nothing else happened based on the results of this postseason.

2016 Miami Heat

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Charlotte Hornets
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 3-4 defeat to Toronto Raptors
The Heat could not carry the momentum of demolishing the Hornets in Game 7 106-73 into another series win, but they did give the Raptors as much as they could handle

2016 Toronto Raptors

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Indiana Pacers
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Miami Heat
Eastern Conference Finals: 2-4 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers managed to sweep both their first and second round opponents in the Pistons and Hawks, coming into the ECF with 9 days rest while the Raptors had to turn around 2 days later to play in Cleveland. Expectedly, the Raptors lost big in Game 1 with a 115-84 final score.

2019 Denver Nuggets

Western Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Spurs
Western Conference Semifinals: 3-4 defeat to the Trail Blazers
Not only did the Nuggets have back to back 7 game series, but this series also included the iconic quadruple overtime game in Game 3 that the Blazers managed to win. Jokic played 65 minutes, playing all 24 minutes of the second half, all 5 minutes of OT1, OT2, and OT3, only coming out for 1 second in OT4 with 3 seconds left for an offense/defense switch. Did the extra 6 days of rest for Portland make the difference in this series? Who knows.

2020 Denver Nuggets

Western Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over the Jazz (3-1 comeback)
Western Conference Second Round: 4-3 victory over the Clippers (3-1 comeback)
Western Conference Finals: 1-4 defeat to the Lakers
No travel or homecourt advantage in this series with it being in the bubble during Covid. The Lakers did manage to finish both of their first two series with 4-1 defeats though.

2022 Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-0 victory over Brooklyn Nets
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Milwaukee Bucks
Eastern Conference Finals: 4-3 victory over Miami Heat
NBA Finals: 2-4 defeat to Golden State Warriors
The Warriors finished their previous series in 5, 6 and 5. They wrapped up the WCF on May 26th compared to the Celtics on May 29th with the Finals starting June 2nd, with Boston winning 120-108.

2023 Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-2 victory over Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4-3 victory over Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern Conference Finals: 3-4 loss to Miami Heat
Heat finished the first round in 5 games and the second in 6 games giving them an extra 2 days of rest over Boston.

2025 Denver Nuggets

Western Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Clippers
Western Conference Semifinals: 3-4 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder
Despite some magical clutch shots, the Nuggets were unable to overcome injuries to grit out a win over the eventual champion Thunder who clawed back from down 2-1 on the road.

2026 Cleveland Cavaliers

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Toronto Raptors
Eastern Conference Semifinals: TBD

2026 Detroit Pistons

Eastern Conference First Round: 4-3 victory over Orlando Magic (3-1 comeback)
Eastern Conference Semifinals: TBD

TL;DR

Teams that went the distance twice in a row and still won the championship (~12.5% success rate):

1962 Boston Celtics
1988 Los Angeles Lakers
2008 Boston Celtics
2013 Miami Heat

Teams that went the distance twice before the NBA Finals and still made it to the Finals (~25% success rate):

1971 Baltimore Bullets (0-4 defeat)
1979 Washington Bullets (1-4 defeat)
1987 Boston Celtics (2-4 defeat)
1988 Los Angeles Lakers (Champions)
1994 New York Knicks (3-4 defeat)
2001 Philadelphia 76ers (1-4 defeat)
2008 Boston Celtics (Champions)
2022 Boston Celtics (2-4 defeat)

Source: Basketball Reference and Wikipedia page of NBA Game Sevens

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

256 | 9 hours ago

Every Eastern conference matchup that hasn’t involved the Knicks has went to 7 games. East just is very even

Prideofmexico | Knicks

83 | 9 hours ago

Except for 1 team 😀

jaman715 | Cavaliers

29 | 9 hours ago

Glad you’re having fun in our lil east safe space! Just don’t expect the same treatment in the finals 😅

Prideofmexico | Knicks

79 | 8 hours ago

I have no such illusions. I’m enjoying being the tallest midget while it lasts though

jaman715 | Cavaliers

26 | 8 hours ago

Don’t call Alvarado that

ArmadilloForsaken458 | Supersonics

-1 | 6 hours ago

Pride cometh before the Fall. ~God’s words to overzealous Knicks fans

Prideofmexico | Knicks

6 | 5 hours ago

Don’t care - me

kyublast | NYK

1 | 4 hours ago

We’ve been falling for decades brother, we’ll take the dubs while we can

Upbeat-Nose-7091 | Bucks

-6 | 7 hours ago

its lasting for only now lol, next year pacers w hali and zu and detroit after they add a second scoring option

wooha | Cavaliers

4 | 6 hours ago

Well they’ll also have to contend with a Cavs team with Bron and Giannis.

California_Stop_King | Cavaliers

3 | 6 hours ago

> Giannis

Our FO says Mobley and a few firsts is too high of a price to pay, sorry about your luck

wooha | Cavaliers

3 | 6 hours ago

God I hope not.

California_Stop_King | Cavaliers

1 | 6 hours ago

There was a story that came out a couple weeks ago that we called the Bucks about Giannis but weren’t willing to part with Mobley, and it insinuated that was the reason things fell through. I desperately hope we change our minds in the offseason

CupCharming4931 | Knicks

14 | 8 hours ago

LOL. Pacers took the thunder to 7 games last year. If Hali wasn’t injured they might have a banner

jaman715 | Cavaliers

6 | 8 hours ago

I wish they did! Just sayin it’s a taller task going against either the scary defending champs or a stacked Wemby-led Spurs

CupCharming4931 | Knicks

-12 | 7 hours ago

Wemby ain’t shit. But yeah Shai and his team of refs are going to be tough

jaman715 | Cavaliers

6 | 7 hours ago

Wemby is certifiably that dude, my guy

CupCharming4931 | Knicks

-7 | 7 hours ago

Elbows don’t count as bag

financialthrowaw2020

-4 | 8 hours ago

They should have won it. If OKC doesn’t make it out of the west I’ll forever consider 2025 a fluke.

AynB1and | Thunder

0 | 7 hours ago

it must be nice living in a fantasy world

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

-8 | 8 hours ago

They should not have won it. A 5 seed hasn’t won a title ever. No way they would’ve won that title

dibzim | Knicks

6 | 7 hours ago

What? Are you saying there was no way they were winning that game 7? At worst it’s a coin flip who wins that game.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

-10 | 7 hours ago

Zero percent chance they win that game to me. Hali injury just gave Pacers an excuse

jaman715 | Cavaliers

6 | 8 hours ago

They won 3 games against them with Hali, it’s certainly reasonable to say it’s possible they could have won one more.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

-6 | 7 hours ago

They weren’t winning a road game 7

financialthrowaw2020

1 | 7 hours ago

They won multiple crazy road games that entire playoffs run and they would have won that one too.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

-1 | 6 hours ago

Zero percent chance

financialthrowaw2020

4 | 8 hours ago

They 100% would have won if Hali didn’t go down, and that’s exactly why they deserved it. It was a generational run for the ages and made history in multiple ways.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

-1 | 7 hours ago

0 percent chance they win with Hali

financialthrowaw2020

-1 | 7 hours ago

This just isn’t rooted in reality at all. If OKC was so good it wouldn’t have gone to 7. Pacers were robbed and were (and still are) the more deserving fan base. I hope they can rebuild and do well.

AynB1and | Thunder

2 | 7 hours ago

reality?

reality: the thunder are the 2025 nba champs and no amount hypothetical bulllshit will ever change that.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

1 | 6 hours ago

Reality is they lost so how isn’t it rooted in reality

Temporary-Level-5410 | Lakers

0 | 4 hours ago

Insane levels of riding lmao

SeizureMode | Pistons

2 | 6 hours ago

What playing the Hawks and 6ers does to a mfer

Prideofmexico | Knicks

3 | 5 hours ago

Crazy how differently people are talking about the Hawks and 76ers after the Knicks smoked them. The dialogue was a lot different prior to that

And not all of us can play the play-in team in the first round that got smoked by the 76ers

jaman715 | Cavaliers

5 | 8 hours ago

I’m excited to see what next year is like. Barring injuries of course, you’ve got the expected Celtics/Knicks/Cavs/76ers/Pacers doing their thing with the rise of Pistons/Raptors/Hornets/Magic/Hawks and now Wizards new roster along with the Heat often exceeding expectations. Bulls have decent players, Nets are young af, Bucks might lose Giannis and have to reidentify but it should be exciting across the conference.

ScheduleExcellent380 | Wizards

3 | 7 hours ago

Giannis probably staying out East.

No guarantee next year will be the same so I’m just enjoying this one

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

-1 | 7 hours ago

homie dropped the Sixers like they a threat 😂

jaman715 | Cavaliers

4 | 7 hours ago

VJ gonna knock your team out next year

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

-2 | 7 hours ago

hornets ain’t a threat either 😂

jaman715 | Cavaliers

1 | 7 hours ago

Just saying many teams are improving and should be exciting to watch next season, not necessarily title-contenders

RedtheGamer100 | Hornets

0 | 7 hours ago

It does for playoffs

MurkyClothes5423

86 | 9 hours ago

They both will be burned out next round ..Knicks are fresh n ready

PapaJohnsGarlic100 | Magic

17 | 9 hours ago

Isn’t there a restaurant where they force employees to use the verbiage “hot n ready” … is that Panera? What am I thinking of?

beachbummeddd

26 | 9 hours ago

Pizza pizza!

Supermoose7178 | Nuggets

15 | 9 hours ago

little caesar’s

sheawrites

3 | 7 hours ago

from detroit, too. illich owned the tigers and redwings, but i guess never got around to the pistons.

datdailo

4 | 7 hours ago

Which is coincidently Detroit’s arena name.

PapaJohnsGarlic100 | Magic

1 | 9 hours ago

Thanks! There’s some great slogans in the pizza business but nothing beats “Better ingredients. Better pizza.” IMO

likdisifucryeverytym | GSW

6 | 8 hours ago

Idk, I think “$1.50 slice” has a certain ring to it

Soft_Poptart | Heat

1 | 9 hours ago

Little Ceasers Pizza

Frodounchainedd | Lakers

1 | 9 hours ago

Damn you got funny money I knew the pizza company right away

Pies_Wide_Shut | Knicks

-1 | 8 hours ago

playing game 7s in two consecutive rounds is fun when u aint got a b*tch in your ear telling you there’s a bad precedent

PapaJohnsGarlic100 | Magic

1 | 7 hours ago

Did you mean to reply to a diff comment? I’m not following

Pies_Wide_Shut | Knicks

1 | 6 hours ago

it’s a deep cut - the restaurant you were thinking of was Little Caesar’s

no-OT-tonight | Pistons

16 | 8 hours ago

Knicks bros are still praying this game goes to 7 OTs, even though both teams are “trash”

MWiatrak2077 | Pistons

1 | 9 hours ago

I don’t know man, there’s something to be said about having too much rest under your legs. Game 1 of the Orlando series they absolutely smacked our shit in on home court, and that was after they’d played basically three consecutive do-or-die games to even make it, and our starting lineup hadn’t played together in weeks. We also have home court advantage, which is pretty big given our home/away disparity.

As it stands right now, if we advance I think the Knicks beat us in 6, but it’s not a given.

Prideofmexico | Knicks

21 | 9 hours ago

FWIW I don’t believe the statistics back this up

Extra_Cress_5855

12 | 9 hours ago

Well we know what the excuse will be in either direction after game 1. One team was rusty or the other team was tired. Just gotta get the job done

ShawshankException | Knicks

2 | 6 hours ago

Either team will have come into the series having played four more games than us. I’m not saying it’s a lock, but I’d definitely rather have “too much rest” than play the equivalent of an extra series coming in

KoalaOnABuilding | Pistons

62 | 9 hours ago

Interesting post. I doubt either of these teams has a shot in the finals anyway, but it’s been a hell of a season for the pistons. Pushing Cleveland so hard in the second round and winning the regular season were what I saw as sort of a best case scenario, and they actually have a pretty good chance for the ECF now. But Jesus Christ I live in NYC so if the pistons win I’m gonna be out there robbing people to afford tickets.

KoalaOnABuilding | Pistons

22 | 8 hours ago

And I’ll add, since Knicks fans get a bad rep - I’ve lived in my spot in harlem for 17 years and regularly rock pistons and tigers gear. Sometimes the old heads will tease me and be like “you know where you are right” but usually we just start talking ball. The city is in a Knicks explosion right now, everyone is rocking Knicks gear, its cool to see everyone so excited again. I’m really hoping we get pistons-knicks, my two favorite teams. It will be confusing for me but it will be a lot of fun. (Grew up as Knicks fan in Michigan because of starks, got back into the pistons around 2000, and then moved here and just got confused. Pistons are my dudes, though.)

PurchasingPugs | Knicks

2 | 7 hours ago

You’ll be saving money flying to Detroit for a game

xVIRIDISx | Cavaliers

26 | 9 hours ago

I don’t understand the “wow” factor of this stat? “Only 8 teams have made the finals… and only 4 have won the championship” okay so half of the teams that made the finals won the finals. That is true across time forever

Julian_Caesar | Mavericks

8 | 6 hours ago

Well there’s some “interesting” factor that only 8 out of 32 teams won their conference series

But yeah the “only” 4 out of 8 is a nothingburger

Either_Imagination_9 | Knicks

24 | 9 hours ago

I’m still pulling for the Cavs but I don’t see them winning this. It would take an all time bad game from Cunningham for Detroit to fuck this up

Few-Asparagus811

37 | 9 hours ago

Cade scored 39 in game 5 and the Pistons lost so this isn’t true at all

Either_Imagination_9 | Knicks

11 | 9 hours ago

Pretty sure that wasn’t game 6

Few-Asparagus811

3 | 9 hours ago

Yeah my bad game 5, but same idea

tobithegreat3

9 | 9 hours ago

I’m also leaning towards Cavs winning, so the Knicks have a more favorable matchup in terms of physicality. However, the Pistons have a much more straightforward offense: Cade and sometimes Tobias Harris.

I’m at the point now where I’m pretty confident in the Knicks in both matchups, especially if OG is 100% healthy.

Niceguydan8

3 | 5 hours ago

Very strange take if you acknowledge how basketball can work in today’s game. Either one of these teams can get hot from 3 and basically win the game on that math alone even if the other team is playing well

crimsonconnect | Knicks

1 | 9 hours ago

The closer we get to the game the more I feel like Detroit is gonna win

Prideofmexico | Knicks

-1 | 9 hours ago

Would much rather play Detroit

Hungry_EatAsssss | Knicks

22 | 9 hours ago

The ‘94 Knicks were going thrrrrooouugghhh it 😂

HokageEzio | Knicks

13 | 9 hours ago

They were that close to one of the grittiest title runs ever. Can’t make it too easy.

Gristle__McThornbody | Lakers

17 | 9 hours ago

Pretty crazy the road the Pistons have taken. Usually earning the number 1 seed means you are rewarded the easiest path to the Finals. Lol.

MacJonesisaterrorist | Celtics

8 | 9 hours ago

Ya neither will win, take a look at the last 10-15 brackets, Whoever out of the East/West winner plays the least amount of games going into the Finals, ends up winning a majority of the time.

Few_Menu4711 | 76ers

10 | 9 hours ago

Correlation doesnt equal causation

jakalo | Hawks

3 | 8 hours ago

There is a direct causal link, teams that play even series are likely weaker than teams that win faster and playing fewer games is less tiring both of which favours Knocks here.

Delicious-Hurry-8373

1 | 5 hours ago

Or they just played against harder teams ? Its very hard to prove causal link

No-Employee-3865

3 | 9 hours ago

1995 Rockets went the distance twice in the first round and semis and still won the championship. Although, first round was only best of 5 back then.

DarkStar668

3 | 9 hours ago

Silver’s doing no doubt.

It has something to do with Brunson’s head. I just don’t know what it is yet

Skeleboi846 | Bucks

3 | 7 hours ago

If the Pistons complete the comeback again I’d be super interested to watch the fight they put up against the Knicks. A lot of their success so far has come from a pretty consistent defensive effort, the further along they go I wonder how much longer that can be sustained at a high level

incredibleamadeuscho | Lakers

2 | 9 hours ago

Battle tested

HoorayPizzaDay | Celtics

2 | 7 hours ago

Yeah this looks about right, I feel like I’ve watched a hundred game 7s.

Warehouseisbare

1 | 9 hours ago

So you’re telling me there’s a chance….

CurrentRoster | Wizards

1 | 9 hours ago

06 pistons just the 06 suns

One_Seaworthiness323

1 | 8 hours ago

Thank god the Pistons will sweep the Knicks next round

tripleyothreat

1 | 8 hours ago

Very interesting! Also the last list is missing the heat

HokageEzio | Knicks

1 | 8 hours ago

The 2013 Heat did not face two Game 7s before the Finals. They were in Game 7 in the ECF and Game 7 in the Finals.

HipnotiK1 | Knicks

1 | 8 hours ago

Both teams have been playing every other day since mid way through the 1st round.

ECF going to be every other day also.

morrisday_andthetime | Nets

1 | 8 hours ago

Meanwhile on the other side of the bracket

The_Assassin_Gower | Pacers

1 | 4 hours ago

Knicks fans desperately clinging to random stats trying to get a ring before haliburton comes back

Few-Asparagus811

0 | 9 hours ago

That’s more than I would have expected

-MoonPresence | Raptors

0 | 9 hours ago

Is there also a way to check if teams who have more rest headed into the conference finals win the series most of the time? Or does it not matter?

HokageEzio | Knicks

3 | 9 hours ago

I’m sure one of these Elias Sports Bureau types of analytics sites that the broadcasts use could get you that sort of detail, but that’s probably a bit more advanced to look into.

gigglios

0 | 9 hours ago

Shoutout to the mid 80s bucks

1987 game 7 bucks vs celtics is one of the best game 7s ever. Bucks were inssrly well balanced. Celtics had 5 stars capable of dropping 20 lol

delta-red-14

0 | 8 hours ago

The Cavs and Pistons aren’t gonna win the ECF, you don’t need an essay to prove that

axecalibur | CHI

-1 | 7 hours ago

James Harden is going to Can-fucking-cun.

BeardedNoOne | Pistons

-4 | 8 hours ago

Thanks but this year is different. Knicks dont match up well with either Cavs or Pisstons.

If the pistons win today, IMO they will easily handle the Knicks as they are the easest team to matchup agsint for the Pistons compared to the Cavs and Magic. I

I actually think the Knicks match up really well agsint the Spurs and will win if they face them (Knicks NBA champs? would be good for the league!) However I dont think the Knicks match up well with either the Cavs or Pistons. Knicks have been really dynamic with using Karl Towns. If anyone can pull it off its them.

Crafty_Substance_954 | Pistons

-4 | 9 hours ago

Whoever goes to the ECF is ultimately playing for 2nd place, so I don’t think it really matters what happens either way

bigknickenergyalt | Knicks

13 | 9 hours ago

People say this every year and yet 3 of the last 7 champs are eastern conference teams

Troll_Enthusiast | Wizards

3 | 9 hours ago

Let them underestimate

Crafty_Substance_954 | Pistons

1 | 7 hours ago

I feel like this year is really OKCs.

The west is more and more of a bloodbath every year so I could see it changing going forward

NecessaryForward6820

-11 | 9 hours ago

I feel like these AI generated slop posts are so dumb because its essentially the same as “Wemby is the first player since Wilt to have 15/4/8/3/2 with less than 3 turnovers by the half”

HokageEzio | Knicks

21 | 9 hours ago

I don’t know why it’s so hard for some of you to wrap your head around the idea that not everybody needs AI to search through a couple Basketball Reference pages and a Wiki page…

I just copy and pasted the results into an Excel sheet and looked for teams that had to play 7 games twice in one season. Not that hard…

HokageEzio | Knicks

6 | 9 hours ago

Here’s the entire table that I pulled from. Every Game 7 in league history laid out in an easy cell format for Excel
Copy the entire table, paste in Excel
Make a Column for the winners, a column for the losers, put the year next to both of them and put those all into the same column regardless of outcome
Count the columns as True if the same team shows up in the same year (meaning they played more than one Game 7, win or lose)
Basketball Reference each season to cross reference if they had to play two in a row and what their opponent had to do on the other side

Some people are just dorks and actually look this stuff up without needing AI.

Either_Imagination_9 | Knicks

2 | 9 hours ago

Relax man he’s already dead

SuspiciousOfRobots | Pistons

2 | 9 hours ago

Mmmm I love sweet sexy excel

Teldrynnn | Warriors

7 | 9 hours ago

What do you contribute?

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons will both be playing their second consecutive 7 game series that will go the distance. Only 8 teams have made the Finals after two consecutive 7 game series before winning the Conference, and only 4 have won the championship going to 7 twice in a row.

1960 St. Louis Hawks

1962 Boston Celtics

1966 Los Angeles Lakers

1971 Baltimore Bullets

1979 San Antonio Spurs

1979 Washington Bullets

1981 Philadelphia 76ers

1987 Boston Celtics

1988 Los Angeles Lakers

1993 Seattle SuperSonics

1994 New York Knicks

1995 Indiana Pacers

2001 Milwaukee Bucks

2001 Philadelphia 76ers

2003 Dallas Mavericks

2005 Detroit Pistons

2006 Phoenix Suns

2008 Boston Celtics

2009 Boston Celtics

2012 Boston Celtics

2013 Miami Heat

2015 Los Angeles Clippers

2016 Golden State Warriors

2016 Miami Heat

2016 Toronto Raptors

2019 Denver Nuggets

2020 Denver Nuggets

2022 Boston Celtics

2023 Boston Celtics

2025 Denver Nuggets

2026 Cleveland Cavaliers

2026 Detroit Pistons

TL;DR