Editorials

10 Things You Didn’t Know (or May Have Forgotten) About the Miracle of Richfield

Published by
Ken Hornack

4. They bypassed the first round.

Ten teams, five in each conference, made the playoffs in the 18-team NBA in the final year before it merged with the American Basketball Association. Since Cleveland and Washington had the second-best and third-best records in the East, they proceeded directly to the conference semifinals. The only first-round series was a best-of-three matchup between Buffalo and Philadelphia, with the winner earning the right to face Boston.

The NBA didn’t eliminate the best-of-three format until 1984.

Next: Both teams alternated home courts throughout the series. 


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Ken Hornack

Ken Hornack is a longtime NBA sports journalist. Before covering the Orlando Magic for the Daytona Beach News-Journal and FoxSportsFlorida.com, the native of the Cleveland area got his foot in the door with the Cavaliers during the Tom Nissalke coaching era and will forever associate his senior year of high school with the Miracle of Richfield. You can follow him @Ken_Hornack.

Published by
Ken Hornack

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