1954 NBA Playoffs
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The 1954 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1953-1954 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Syracuse Nationals, four games to three in the NBA Finals.
For the Lakers it was their third consecutive NBA championship, and fifth in the last six years. But the 1960s would belong to the Boston Celtics, who would become their biggest rivals; they would not win the title again until 1972 as the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the folding of the Indianapolis Olympians after the previous year's playoffs, leaving the NBA with nine teams, they resorted to a round-robin playoff format in 1954 for the only time in the league's history.
Although the Minneapolis Lakers, Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals and Syracuse Nationals all play in different cities now (Los Angeles, Detroit, Sacramento and Philadelphia respectively), this was the first NBA playoff in which every team that participated still exists today.
[edit] Division Semifinals
The top 3 teams in each Division played a double round-robin in the Semifinals. The top 2 teams in the round-robin advanced to the Division Finals (shaded). The 2nd game between Minneapolis and Rochester (the final game to be played in the group) was cancelled because it would not affect seeding.
Western Division
| Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis Lakers | 3 | 0 |
| Rochester Royals | 2 | 1 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons | 0 | 4 |
Eastern Division
| Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Syracuse Nationals | 4 | 0 |
| Boston Celtics | 2 | 2 |
| New York Knicks | 0 | 4 |
[edit] Playoff Bracket
| Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 2 | ||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 1 | ||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 4 | ||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 3 | ||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||
| E2 | Boston | 1 | ||||||
