7-Up for the Timberwolves?
One win from Minnesota means a 50-50 shot historically at the NBA title
The Minnesota Timberwolves are going to try to open the playoffs with seven straight wins, which would be the longest streak in the NBA’s postseason since last year, when the Nuggets won the last two games of the second round against the Suns, swept the Lakers, and won Game 1 of the Finals against Miami on their way to the title.
Seven wins is almost half of what you need to get a championship… how often have teams converted being this hot into a banner in their arena’s rafters? Let’s take a look with Stathead.
Exactly half of the 16 teams with winning streaks of seven-plus in the playoffs have gone on to be champions (length of streak in parentheses):
1949 Minneapolis Lakers (7)
1950 Minneapolis Lakers (7)
1982 Lakers (9)
1983 76ers (7)
1986 Celtics (7)
1987 Lakers (7)
1989 Pistons (7, twice)
1993 Bulls (7)
1996 Bulls (9)
1999 Spurs (12)
2001 Lakers (11)
2010 Lakers (8)
2011 Mavericks (7)
2016 Cavaliers (10)
2017 Warriors (15)
2023 Nuggets (7)
Ten of the teams with these streaks wound up losing in the NBA Finals, including a few who came up against champions from the list above. Those teams are italicizied:
1970 Lakers (7)
1989 Lakers (11)
1996 SuperSonics (8)
1998 Jazz (7)
2003 Nets (10)
2013 Spurs (7)
2015 Cavaliers (7)
2017 Cavaliers (10)
2020 Heat (7)
2021 Suns (9)
Then there’s the group that the Timberwolves would very much like to avoid joining if they can become the latest seven-game streakers… the six teams that have gotten seven straight playoff wins but bowed out in the conference finals…
1999 Pacers (7)
2005 Heat (8)
2007 Pistons (7)
2009 Cavaliers (8)
2010 Magic (8)
2012 Spurs (10)
The Spurs’ 2012 playoff run is mind-boggling: top seed in the West, sweep the Jazz and Clippers, go up 2-0 on the Thunder… and then don’t win another game. They bounced back alright, going to the Finals in 2013 and winning the title in 2014.
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The Celtics started their second-round series with a 120-95 win over the Cavaliers, the second time in NBA history that a series has started with that score… following the 2024 Timberwolves-Suns sweep.
The last five teams to open a series with a win by 25 or more points have gone on to advance, with the last time such a blowout wasn’t a harbinger being in 2018, when the Celtics beat the Cavaliers, 108-83, to begin a series in which the home team won every game until a 35-point LeBron James masterclass in Game 7.
Overall, the Celtics are 8-4 in series where they win the opener by 25-plus, going on to win the championship in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1974, and 1986.
The Cavaliers have only suffered two series-opening losses worse than this in franchise history. James helped them rally to Game 7 agaisnt the Pistons in the 2006 second round, where they ultimately succumbed, 79-61, while the 1998 Cavs went out 3-1 in the first round to the Pacers after a 106-77 opener.
Unfortunately, video exists of that 79-61 game. Fortunately, we have standards here and will not be sharing it.