The 2014 NBA Playoffs is the postseason best-of-seven elimination tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2013–14 season, which began on April 19, 2014. Eight teams in the Eastern Conference and eight in the Western Conference are participating, ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the conference finals. For the first time since the 1984 NBA Finals, the Finals will be played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the higher seed team hosting the first two games, then the other team the next two, then the teams alternate hosting a game until the seventh game which the higher seed hosts).