How does it all work

[The Raging Bull]

Hi there. Excuse my newb ignorance here, but I've only recently got back into watching the NBA in the last season. Used to watch it as a kid back in the 90's, but have not followed it in the last 10 years or so.

I have a few questions.

1. How does the Eastern and Western thing work? What is the go with the divisions? Do any of the East teams play the West teams during the normal regular season, or do they just play in their own conference until the finals?

2. What is the go with the divisions? Why are there like 3 divisions in each conference. How does it work with the standing and stuff? I am not familar with how the whole divisions thing works.

3. How do the finals work when you've got 2 different conferences and all these divisions?

Any help would be appreciated. If there is a website like or something then that would be cool.

Go the Magic.

[dreamcloud]

1. Yes East & West conference teams play each other in regular season, but only twice. While the teams in same conference play each other 4 times (sometimes 3). Winning a division means you're guaranteed a top 4 seed in the playoffs.

2. Five teams in each division. The team with the best record in each division is guaranteed a top 4 seed in the playoffs in their respective conference. Playoffs are 1-8 seed for each conference (East/West)

3. Finals is the champ of the Western playoffs (3 rounds) vs the champ of the Eastern playoffs (3 rounds). Best of 7 for NBA championship. This explains what the playoffs are like in more detail: Link

[Soul Patch]

What got you starting watching the NBA again?

[Paladin55]

What got you starting watching the NBA again?

Gone Walkabout for 10 years in the Australian outback.

The term Walkabout comes from the Australian Aboriginal. The idea is that a person can get so caught up in one's work, obligations and duties that the truly important parts of one's self become lost. From there it is a downward spiral as one gets farther and farther from the true self. A crisis situation usually develops that awakens the wayward to the absent true self. It is at this time that one must go on walkabout. All possessions are left behind (except for essential items) and one starts walking. Metaphorically speaking, the journey goes on until you meet yourself. Once you find yourself, you sit down and have a long talk about what one has learned, felt and done in each other's absence. One talks until there is nothing left to say -- the truly important things cannot be said. If one is lucky, after everything has been said and unsaid, one looks up and sees only one person instead of the previous two.
-Source Unknown

I think he just met himself again.

[magicfan4life05]

wow what a great story this is, ill let the more informed posters answer your question,

but let me just say, i am PROUD to share a forum with you sir, your story is inspirational, filled with imagine, hope, and life...i hope you stay here for a long time so we can be a family !


you are OFFICIALLY being added to my "friends" list

have a great day Paladin55!!

[insfo]

wow what a great story this is, ill let the more informed posters answer your question,

but let me just say, i am PROUD to share a forum with you sir, your story is inspirational, filled with imagine, hope, and life...i hope you stay here for a long time so we can be a family !


you are OFFICIALLY being added to my "friends" list

have a great day Paladin55!!

Is there some hidden text that I am not reading here ??

[Paladin55]

Is there some hidden text that I am not reading here ??

I fear that someone may have mistaken the Walkabout story for something that really happened to the OP. I just threw it in there because the OP was from Australia, and had not yet accounted for his 10 year absence from being a fan of the sport.

Now I'm feeling a bit embarrassed.

[SOUL]

Hi there. Excuse my newb ignorance here, but I've only recently got back into watching the NBA in the last season. Used to watch it as a kid back in the 90's, but have not followed it in the last 10 years or so.

I have a few questions.

1. How does the Eastern and Western thing work? What is the go with the divisions? Do any of the East teams play the West teams during the normal regular season, or do they just play in their own conference until the finals?

2. What is the go with the divisions? Why are there like 3 divisions in each conference. How does it work with the standing and stuff? I am not familar with how the whole divisions thing works.

3. How do the finals work when you've got 2 different conferences and all these divisions?

Any help would be appreciated. If there is a website like or something then that would be cool.

Go the Magic.

nice team to choose

and dreamcloud basically answered it..

the divisions are just inside of the eastern and western conference, 8 teams from each conference then go into a playoffs and the last one standing from both play for the finals.

[M4P]

Is there some hidden text that I am not reading here ??

I fear that someone may have mistaken the Walkabout story for something that really happened to the OP. I just threw it in there because the OP was from Australia, and had not yet accounted for his 10 year absence from being a fan of the sport.

Now I'm feeling a bit embarrassed.

Hell, if anything Magicfan should be the one feeling embarrassed

[The Raging Bull]

lmfao gone walk-a-about.

Not quite. I used to watch the NBA a lot as a kid in the 90's, it was regularly televised through free-to-air TV. As the years went on, NBA wasn't televised on free-to-air television anymore, you could only watch it on Foxtel (pay-tv). We didn't end up getting Foxtel until 1997, but even though the coverage was minimal.

Basically just lost interest. There's just so many other popular sports in Australia (other than the NBA) so it's quite easy to lose interest I guess. But nowdays where is plenty of NBA coverage on pay-tv so I've started watching it again. So awesome.

[Devilzsidewalk]

every second you waste watching basketball is a second you could be putting to good use watching cricket and rugby

[kevC]

You see, when a man loves a woman, sometimes he wants to act on that love...

[Walton'sBeard!]

Go the Blazers

[SaintofKillers]

Metaphorically speaking, the journey goes on until you meet yourself. Once you find yourself, you sit down and have a long talk about what one has learned, felt and done in each other's absence. One talks until there is nothing left to say -- the truly important things cannot be said. If one is lucky, after everything has been said and unsaid, one looks up and sees only one person instead of the previous two.

This is like reading the plot synopsis for Naked Lunch.

[breaker91]

every second you waste watching basketball is a second you could be putting to good use watching cricket and rugby

Its not rugby its Aussie rule football. There's a big difference. To put it in Minnestoaese for you they are about as different as bass fishing vs pike fishing.

[Devilzsidewalk]

really, in Australia they say "hey, lets go check out an Aussie rules football game" ?

thats too wordy

the only fishing I do is putting packages of frozen fish in my cart at the grocery store

[The Raging Bull]

lol In Australia it's like this..

"Hey, let's watch the footy" = Aussie Rules Football if you're in the state of Victoria, or Rugby League if you're in the state of New South Wales. Both different codes, different games but the same term is used. "Footy".

"Hey, let's go watch the Rugby" = Rugby Union. Different game altogether (and **** game).

[Stanford]

Do elitist soccer **** get all pissed when you use the term 'footy', like they do us and football?

[The Raging Bull]

Do elitist soccer **** get all pissed when you use the term 'footy', like they do us and football?

Indeed they do!