Format
With the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, in 2005, the NBA realigned its divisions. Each conference had three divisions of five teams each, and at this point in time, the winner of each division was guaranteed a top 3 playoff seed, regardless of whether the team had one of the top 8 records in its conference. However, the division champion was not guaranteed home court advantage; a division-leading team could be ranked third or even second but face a lower seed (that did not win its division) with a better record, which would then have the home court advantage. This was illustrated in the first round this year when the 44-win Denver Nuggets won the Northwest Division and had the third seed, yet did not have home court advantage against the sixth-seeded 47-win Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers had played the Memphis Grizzlies a week before the playoffs for the fifth and sixth seed. However, the loser of the game would have faced Denver, while the winner would face fourth seeded Dallas, who had the second best record in the league that year. It was speculated that the Clippers lost on purpose to play Denver in the first round. However, starting in the 2007 playoffs, being a division-leading team did not guarantee a top 3 playoff seed.
Read more about this topic: 2006 NBA Playoffs