The difference of NBA Playoffs vs March Madness

Share

Seed fixation is one of most irksome parts of the NCAA Tournament because it colors so much of the games below. Indeed, the initial and overriding buy-in to Loyola of Chicago’s delightful run began and nearly ended with the big red number “11.”
 
In other words, thank The Great Shift Foreman In The Sky for Sister Jean.
 
As this relates to the NBA Playoffs, which begin today, we can all sigh with relief that seed fixation is not part of the pre-series analysis when it certainly could be. Take (and given where you are, you don’t really have a choice here) Warriors-Spurs.
 
Or as we will refer to them here (2) Warriors-(7) Spurs.
 
We know that eight-seeds have always been the longest of shots. This is the 35th year of the 16-team playoff format, and only five of the previous 68 – the ’94 Nuggets, ’99 Knicks, ’07 Warriors, ’11 Grizzlies and ’12 76ers – have beaten their respective one-seeds. That Knicks team is the only to win another series, getting to the Finals before getting crushed by San Antonio.
 
But undiscussed in that underdiscussed topic is the fact that seven-seeds are just as inert – 5 of 68. In fact, only one seven-seed since 1998, the ’10 Spurs (over Dallas), has not been knocked out, and only two, the ’06 Lakers and ’09 Bulls, even reached a seventh game.
 
In other words, being a (7) isn’t any more helpful than being an (8). Its only real value is that it isn’t a (9).
 
It is why the (2) Warriors with all their DayGlo flaws are considered prohibitive favorites over the (7) Spurs with their one Yosemite-sized crack – an MIA Kawhi Leonard. It is also why so few people see many things derailing a sub-apocalyptic Western Conference Final between (2) Golden State and (1) Houston. The great battle to reduce seven teams to six was fabulous entertainment that occurred without any intervention from the brutes in Programming (let that be a lesson to you kids), but now is when the chalk truly rises.
 
Well, rises at a rate of 6-to-1, anyway.
 
The key is, with 16 teams, one can enjoy and absorb the deeds of a relative few players, and understand mostly why things happen as they do. It replaces seed fixation as a motivator for fans – that, and the fact that nobody refers to following the NBA as “Bracketology.”
 
But it’s still hard for those rogue (7) teams to do any better than those rogue (8) teams. Or, really the (6), which has won only one title, or the (3), which has won four. That’s a whole lot of favorites and near-favorites – the kind of thing that seed fixation advocates should love. And yet, it doesn’t happen that way, because . . . well, because we’d rather watch the games than the brackets.
 
So it’s (2) Warriors and (7) Spurs – for all its warts, still worth the money.

Contact Us