If you aren’t a big basketball fan, or you’ve only played basketball and never really discussed it at a macro level, you may be confused by the term “in 5.” So, what does it mean?
In basketball, “in 5” indicates that someone thinks a team will win the necessary number of games in just five games total. For example, if someone says “Nuggets in 5,” the Nuggets will win the series (by either winning 4 or 3 games) with only five games being played.
The rest of this article will go over what this term means and give you a few other play-off terms you should know.
“In 5” Explained in Simple Terms
When someone says “in 5,” it usually means they’re guessing a particular team will win the series, tournament, or play-off within five games. Usually, you’ll hear them say the team name first (such as “Nuggets in 5”) to indicate who they think will win.
This term is most commonly used during a 7-game playoff series. When someone says this, they’re indicating that the game will go for five games total and that the team will win the series 4-1 (with the other team winning once).
One team winning four games and the other winning one is the only possible outcome of an “in 5” series.
This does not mean the team is going to win 5 games. It means the series will only go to five games.
How Basketball Play-Offs Work
Usually, basketball will have a seven-game playoff structure. This means that it’s not a one-and-done. If your favorite team lost a game to the opposing team, they still have a few more chances to win.
The games are a “best of” seven, meaning whoever wins most of the games will win. If one team wins four games in a row right off the bat, the series would automatically end because there’s no way for the opposing team to beat them (they have already won most of the games).
Other Need-To-Know Lingo for Play-Off Season
If “in 5” is a new term to you, and you want to know what’s going on at the play-off party, you’ll likely hear a few of these terms:
- Sweep. This means a team has won the tournament or play-off without a single loss. The other team was “swept.”
- Still alive. Still alive, especially in the earlier games of the playoffs, means that a team is still in the running to win the entire tournament — usually used when a team has beat another team in their smaller series.
- Go all the way. This means the team will likely go to the final round of playoffs.
Conclusion
If you think your team will beat another team at least three or four times, and the head-to-head battle will last five games, it’s appropriate to say, “[Your Team] in 5.” This prediction indicates that not only do you think your team will win the series, but they’ll be able to do it with only five games being played.