As the NBA playoffs approach, there are some teams that are pushing for the top seed and others that are resting up for the postseason. In the process I've heard a number of analysts suggest that seeding isn't important. I wanted to see if that was true.
Let's assume that teams that are hosting a first-round series aren't content to play into the second round. Their goal is to win it all. Even in Oklahoma City, they aren't getting themselves psyched up right now to get to the Western Conference finals. Now, the fans might be delighted with that, but that's not what the goal is.
I went back to 1980 to look for the answer to four questions. First, how often did a No. 1 seed win and what other seeds have won. Second, how many teams won road series in order to win the championship. Third, if the No. 1 overall did not win, did the team that beat them win. Finally, what was the record of the road team in the NBA Finals.
SEEDING
In the 31 years since the 1980 season, the NBA championship has been won by one of the two No. 1 seeds 22 times, or 71 percent of the time. Of those, it has been won by the No. 1 ...
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Article written by Kelly Scaletta
NBA Playoffs: Is Seeding Important Enough for the Bulls to Push for Top Spot?
April 4th, 2011 by Kelly Scaletta Leave a reply »
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