Playoffs
“Playoffs” 是 playoff 的 复数，指 常规赛之后决定冠军或晋级的淘汰赛阶段。美式体育（NBA、NFL 等）报道中极高频。
- “The team clinched a spot in the playoffs.” (球队锁定了季后赛席位。)
- “Playoffs begin next week after a long regular season.” (漫长常规赛结束后，季后赛下周开打。)
- “Fans packed the arena for the first round of the playoffs.” (首轮季后赛球迷坐满了球馆。)
由 play（比赛）+ off（出局、对抗）组合，原指“输一场就出局”的赛制，与 play-off game 同源。
playoff + -s 复数；可作名词短语 the playoffs 表整个阶段。
北美文化 playoff race（争夺季后赛名额）是赛季末焦点；与足球世界杯的 knockout stage 概念相近但用词不同。
- 固定搭配: “make the playoffs” (打进季后赛), “playoff game” (季后赛单场), “playoff series” (季后赛系列赛)
play 继续 off сезон → 赛季后还在打的就是 playoffs。
“After they made the playoffs, every playoff game felt louder than the regular season combined.” (打进季后赛后，每场季后赛的喧嚣都胜过整个常规赛。)