Good News: You Won Game 7; Bad News: You're Less Likely To Win Round 2 | FiveThirtyEight

The Bad News After Winning Game 7
INDIANAPOLIS - MAY 5:Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55), center, on the Pacers bench during the second half of the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Washington Wizards and the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Field House on Monday, May 5, 2014. The Washington Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers 102-96. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS - MAY 5:Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55), center, on the Pacers bench during the second half of the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Washington Wizards and the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Field House on Monday, May 5, 2014. The Washington Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers 102-96. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A close call in the first round of the NBA playoffs doesn’t always doom a team. In 2008, the Boston Celtics, coming off a 66-16 season, needed seven games to get by an Atlanta Hawks team that had gone 37-45. But they wound up winning the NBA title.

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