A previous feature on this site examined what has happened when a team that swept its previous best-of-7 playoff series meets a team that "ekes" out a seven-game win in its previous best-of-7 playoff series. Now, however, the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers have presented us with a scenario that extends this idea: What happens when a team that sweeps its previous two best-of-7 playoff series meets a team that took seven games to eke out wins in its previous two best-of-7 playoff series? The Lakers fit the former category, having swept its 2001 NBA Qtrs series vs. Sacramento and 2001 NBA Semis series vs. San Antonio. The Sixers fit the latter category, requiring seven games to defeat Toronto in the 2001 NBA Qtrs and seven games to defeat Milwaukee in the 2001 NBA Semis. In series 844 -- the 2001 NBA Finals -- the Lakers don the guise of "double sweeper" against the Sixers, who likewise don the guise of "double eker".

Series 844 is the first time that a double-sweeper is facing a double-eker, in either the NHL or NBA playoffs. (Since the MLB playoffs feature only two rounds of best-of-7 play, a double-sweeper can never face a double-eker in the MLB playoffs.) And just as in the case where "sweep" meets "eke", one wonders whether too much rest becomes "rust" on the double-sweeper, and whether experience or exhaustion will characterize the double-eker. But while it may be that a double-sweeper has never met a double-eker before, we can look at how double-sweepers and double-ekers have fared in their respective third round's worth of best-of-7 playoffs.

How NBA double-sweepers have fared:

From 1947 through 2000, NBA teams that swept their best-of-7 Qtrs series and swept their best-of-7 Semis series posted a 2-1 record in best-of-7 Finals rounds. The two wins occurred in 1999, when the San Antonio Spurs swept their Qtrs and Semis series and won the Finals, and in 1982, when the Los Angeles Lakers did likewise. The sole loss came in 1989, when the Lakers swept their Qtrs and Semis series, but were swept in turn by the Detroit Pistons. A precedent of note: In 1982, which saw double-sweeping Los Angeles win the Finals, the Finals victory came at the expense of the Philadelphia 76ers, which in turn had eked out a seven-game series win in the Semis -- 1982 saw a double-sweeping Lakers team defeat a single-eking Sixers team; the only difference between 1982 and 2001 is that Philadelphia is a double-eking team this time around.

How NBA double-ekers have fared:

From 1947 through 2000, NBA teams that eked out a seven-game win in their best-of-7 Qtrs series and did the same in their best-of-7 Semis series posted a 1-4 record in best-of-7 Finals series. The sole winner provides an ironic precedent for the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers: It was the 1988 Los Angeles Lakers that eked out a seven-game win in their best-of-7 Qtrs series, did the same in their best-of-7 Semis series, AND eked out yet one more seven-game win in their best-of-7 Finals series. Thus, the 2001 Sixers hope to emulate the 1988 Lakers in series 844 vs. the 2001 Lakers (but probably in under seven games, if possible). The four losers in this situation were the 1994 New York Knickerbockers, the 1987 Boston Celtics, the 1979 Washington Bullets, and the 1971 Baltimore Bullets.

How NHL double-sweepers have fared:

From 1939 through 2000, NHL teams that swept their best-of-7 Qtrs series and swept their best-of-7 Semis series posted an 0-2 record in best-of-7 Finals rounds. (So much for rest in those cases.) The two ill-fated double-sweeping losers were the 1992 Chicago Blackhawks (swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL Finals, in an outcome parallel to that of the 1989 NBA Finals -- both the 1992 NHL Blackhawks and the 1989 NBA Lakers were double-sweepers that got swept in their respective Finals), and the 1969 St. Louis Blues (also swept in the 1969 NHL Finals -- this time by the Montreal Canadiens). Since best-of-7 NHL Prelim-round play began in 1987, no NHL team has swept its Prelim round and also swept its Qtrs round.

How NHL double-ekers have fared:

From 1939 through 2000, NHL teams that eked out seven-game wins in either their Prelim and Qtrs rounds or their Qtrs and Semis rounds posted an 0-3 record in the corresponding best-of-7 Semis or Finals rounds. The three teams were the 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs (won Prelim round in seven, won Qtrs round in seven, lost Semis series), the 1990 Chicago Blackhawks (won Prelim round in seven, won Qtrs round in seven, lost Semis series), and the 1968 St. Louis Blues (won Qtrs round in seven, won Semis round in seven, got swept in Finals by the Montreal Canadiens).

06 June 2001