NBA Layoffs: Impact of 11-Day Layover Teams in Finals

NBA Layoffs: Impact of 11-Day Layover Teams in Finals
Fact Checked by Thomas Leary

For the second time in the last four years, the Boston Celtics have reached the NBA Finals, with the champions of the Eastern Conference playing either the Dallas Mavericks or the Minnesota Timberwolves in the best-of-seven series.  

Hopefully for Boston fans, this yearā€™s finals will go better than the franchiseā€™s last two appearances in the series, with the Cā€™s losing in 2010 to the Los Angeles Lakers and to the Golden State Warriors in six games during the 2022 iteration of the league finals.  

Game 1 is set for June 6. With 11 days until the start of the series, BetMassachusetts.com wanted to know what the results of long layoffs between recent series can tell us. Using Sports-Reference.com, we found that over the past two decades, only 5 teams have had an 11-day timeframe between winning the conference game and starting Game 1 of the NBA Finals. And 11 days is the longest waiting period in the past 20 years.  

Note: The timeframe is counting the end date within the calculation. 

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Teams With 11 Days Between Conference Finals and NBA Finals

Season

Team

Finals Result

2022-23

Denver Nuggets

Won

2018-19

Golden State Warriors

Lost

2016-2017

Golden State Warriors

Won

2014-15

Cleveland Cavaliers

Lost

2012-13

San Antonio Spurs

Lost

NBA Layoffs: Results in Finals After 11-Day Wait 

Won NBA Finals

Lost NBA Finals

40%

60%

Will Celtics Buck NBAā€™s Recent Layoff Woes?

Since the 2013 NBA Finals, teams that entered the championship series with an 11-day layoff like the Celtics have not fared well in the final round, with two of the five going on to win the Larry Oā€™Brien trophy, while three others fell by the wayside of history.  

The teams that came out on top were last yearā€™s Denver Nuggets and the 2017 Warriors, while the Warriors of 2019 were joined by the 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013 San Antonio Spurs in losing during the NBA Finals.  

Since 2000, Boston has posted a 1-2 series record in the NBA Finals, giving Celtics fans hope that Joe Mazzulla and his staff can get the franchise over the hump for the first time in a decade-and-a-half when the leagueā€™s championship series wraps up next month.  

Stick with BetMasssachusetts.com for the best deals across MA betting apps during the Finals.

USA Today photo by Trevor Ruszkowski.

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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