2005 NBA Playoffs - Format

Format

Beginning with the 2004–05 season, with the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA realigned its divisions. Each conference now has three divisions of five teams each, and at this point in time, the winner of each division was guaranteed a top three playoff seed, regardless of whether the team had one of the top eight records in its conference. However, the division champion was not guaranteed home court advantage; a division-leading team with a poor record could be ranked number three but face a sixth seed with a better record, which would then have home court advantage. This has since been rectified by the NBA.