1998 NBA Playoffs

The 1998 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997-1998 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their sixth championship of the decade by defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz four games to two for the second straight year. The Bulls had also achieved a second threepeat, a feat unrivaled since the Boston Celtics of 1966. The 1998 playoffs were the last involving the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls (the Bulls would not return to the playoffs until 2005).

The Indiana Pacers pushed the Bulls to the very limit in the Eastern Conference Finals, becoming one of only two teams to force Chicago to a Game 7 in the Bulls' championship years (the New York Knicks achieved this in 1992). This Pacers team was later named by Pacers.com as the greatest Pacers team in franchise history, even better than the 2000 team that won the Eastern Conference championship.

Bracket

16TeamBracket

RD1=First Round
RD2=Conference Semifinals
RD3=Conference Finals
RD4=NBA Finals

group1=Western Conference
group2=Eastern Conference
RD1-seed01=1
RD1-team01=Utah
RD1-score01=3
RD1-seed02=8
RD1-team02=Houston
RD1-score02=2
RD1-seed03=4
RD1-team03=Phoenix
RD1-score03=1
RD1-seed04=5
RD1-team04=San Antonio
RD1-score04=3
RD1-seed05=3
RD1-team05=L.A. Lakers
RD1-score05=3
RD1-seed06=6
RD1-team06=Portland
RD1-score06=1
RD1-seed07=2
RD1-team07=Seattle
RD1-score07=3
RD1-seed08=7
RD1-team08=Minnesota
RD1-score08=2
RD1-seed09=1
RD1-team09=Chicago
RD1-score09=3
RD1-seed10=8
RD1-team10=New Jersey
RD1-score10=0
RD1-seed11=4
RD1-team11=Charlotte
RD1-score11=3
RD1-seed12=5
RD1-team12=Atlanta
RD1-score12=1
RD1-seed13=3
RD1-team13=Indiana
RD1-score13=3
RD1-seed14=6
RD1-team14=Cleveland
RD1-score14=1
RD1-seed15=2
RD1-team15=Miami
RD1-score15=2
RD1-seed16=7
RD1-team16=New York
RD1-score16=3
RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=Utah
RD2-score01=4
RD2-seed02=5
RD2-team02=San Antonio
RD2-score02=1
RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=L.A. Lakers
RD2-score03=4
RD2-seed04=2
RD2-team04=Seattle
RD2-score04=1
RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=Chicago
RD2-score05=4
RD2-seed06=4
RD2-team06=Charlotte
RD2-score06=1
RD2-seed07=3
RD2-team07=Indiana
RD2-score07=4
RD2-seed08=7
RD2-team08=New York
RD2-score08=1
RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=Utah
RD3-score01=4
RD3-seed02=3
RD3-team02=L.A. Lakers
RD3-score02=0
RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=Chicago
RD3-score03=4
RD3-seed04=3
RD3-team04=Indiana
RD3-score04=3
RD4-seed01=W1
RD4-team01=Utah
RD4-score01=2
RD4-seed02=E1
RD4-team02=Chicago
RD4-score02=4

Playoff qualifying

Western Conference

Home Court Advantage

The Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls tied for the best record in the NBA. However, the Jazz won the season series against the Bulls 2-0, which serves as a tiebreaker, and therefore Utah was awarded home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs.

Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:

# Utah Jazz (clinched Midwest division)
# Seattle SuperSonics (clinched Pacific division)
# Los Angeles Lakers
# Phoenix Suns
# San Antonio Spurs
# Portland Trail Blazers
# Minnesota Timberwolves
# Houston Rockets

Eastern Conference

Best record in conference

The Chicago Bulls clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire Eastern Conference playoffs.

Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:

# Chicago Bulls (clinched Central division)
# Miami Heat (clinched Atlantic division)
# Indiana Pacers
# Charlotte Hornets
# Atlanta Hawks
# Cleveland Cavaliers
# New York Knicks
# New Jersey Nets

Western Conference

Champion: Utah Jazz

First Round

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Houston Rockets

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers

Conference Finals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (7) New York Knicks

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1998.html Basketball-Reference.com's 1998 Playoffs section]