NBA Final Round Notes

Tonight in game 6 at Milwaukee, the home team Bucks will attempt to win their second crown and first in 50 years.

This is the NBA’s 75th season and its 75th best of 7 final round entity.

In 47 previous game 6’s, the team leading (3-2) won the title in game 6, 28 times, doing so 14 times vs just 4 losses at home. The (3-2) leader also claimed a 6 game series title 13 times on the road and once, last year in an Orlando, Florida, “bubble.”

The NBA final has gone to a 7th game 19 times, 15 after a home team win. In ’69, ’78, and ’16 the Celts, Bullets and Cavs followed a #6 home win with a game 7 road win.

Five times in the 30 or so seasons of a 2-3-2 final round format, (clearly ’85-2013 and ’55, maybe a # of others?) a team trailing the series (3-2) won both games 6 and 7 at home to win the crown (’55 Syracuse Nationals, in the lone all home 7 game NBA final, ’88 and ’10 Lakers, ’94 Rockets and ’13 Heat doing so).

No road team ever won in the 7 game 7’s, in the 2-3-2 format, two 5 time champion franchise and location champions prevailing in #7 after a home #6 loss, the ’54 Minneapolis Lakers to win a third straight and 5th title in 6 seasons and the ’05 Spurs (their 3rd crown in 7seasons in what would be 4 in 9 and 5 in 15 seasons).

Only the ’62 Celtics accomplished what the (3-2) trailing Phoenix Suns hope to, namely win #6 on the road and #7 of the final at home. The ’74 Celtics won #7 vs the Bucks, who had won a road 6th game.