The two-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers entered their sixth consecutive postseason.
The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the playoffs with their first Northwest Division title under this incarnation.
The Denver Nuggets entered their eighth consecutive postseason and their first since 1995 without Carmelo Anthony on the roster.
The Phoenix Suns, despite a run to the Western Conference finals last postseason, missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
The Chicago Bulls achieved several "firsts" since 1998: the East's best record, a Central Division title, and over 60 victories.
They also clinched the NBA's best record for the first time since 1997, guaranteeing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Miami Heat entered their third consecutive postseason, and their first in the Big 3 era of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh.
By losing Game 1 of their series against the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers joined the San Antonio Spurs as the first top seeds to lose an opening game of the playoffs since the 16–team playoff format was introduced.
This also marked the first home playoff game with new Amway Center (now called Kia Center) In Game 4 of their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 23-point deficit to tie the series at 2.
For the first time since the current NBA Playoff format was introduced in 2003, no first-round series was pushed to a Game 7.
It also marked the second time (the first being 2007) that his and Kobe Bryant's teams were eliminated in the same playoff series since the duo broke up in 2004.
However, the Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals for just the second time since the Michael Jordan era (the first being 2007).
[2] The newly revamped Heat, with the much-publicized off-season acquisitions of All-Stars and franchise players LeBron James and Chris Bosh, were heavy favorites going into this series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Along with Dwyane Wade, James and Bosh comprised the "Big 3" and were eager to show critics that they could compete in the playoffs after some slip-ups during the regular season (a 9–8 start, a five-game losing streak and a somewhat suspect record against the best teams in the league).
Due to the Celtics' struggles at the end of the regular season and the star power of the Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, many observers predicted a first-round upset victory for New York.
The Celtics captured Games 3 and 4 fairly easily as injuries to both Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups took their toll on the Knicks.
Despite defeating Orlando in three of their four regular-season meetings, the Atlanta Hawks were considered underdogs entering this series against the Magic, led by Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard.
The Hawks were utterly unable to contain Howard in the first game; he scored 46 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.
The teams split the next two games and the Hawks advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight year.
With San Antonio 1.7 seconds away from elimination in Game 5, Gary Neal connected on a three-point buzzer beater to force overtime.
James called the series "personal", saying "...You don't want to keeping getting beat by the same team, the same team keep sending you home to plan a vacation..."[13] The Heat won the first two games, but the Celtics won Game 3, 97–81.
In that game, Boston point guard Rajon Rondo dislocated his left elbow on a bizarre play in the third quarter where he became tangled up with Dwyane Wade.
Rondo still contributed to the Celtics' victory, scoring four points in the fourth quarter after the injury and finishing with 11 assists.
However, his left arm was visibly limp for the remainder of the series and he was unable to play at his usual level of ability.
[13] Miami bounced back after the Game 3 loss to win the series, 4–1, returning to their first Eastern Conference finals since the 2006 NBA playoffs.
Mavericks sixth man Jason Terry led the team in scoring with 32 points while making nine of his ten long-range attempts, tying another NBA playoff record that would go unequaled for nearly five years.
[16] This series was the one and only time a team coached by Phil Jackson was swept out of the NBA Playoffs.
Chicago swept Miami in the regular season en route to the league's best record and also blew out the Heat in Game 1 of the conference finals, 103–82.
In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas set a playoff record for most free throws made without a miss with 24, previously held by Paul Pierce (21) in 2003.
In Game 4, Dallas rallied from a 15-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation to win in overtime for a 3–1 series lead.