There is less than a month until the start of playoff from NBAon Saturday, April 20. Previously, between April 16 and 19, the playin will be held. In these two weeks the games arrive that will decide in which position each team finishes, some, with their eyes set on the playoff, others, more interested in losing (the famous tanking).
Los Celtics They became the first team to mathematically qualify for this playoff,and they are already first in their conference. They are having one of their best seasons so far this century, and with less than ten games left, they have a 78.7% victory rate, close to equaling the 80% of the year they won the ring. On the west side, Denver, Oklahoma y Minnesota They already have their ticket to the final phase.
But how does it affect the final classification of each conference during the regular season in order to be able to play in the NBA final? Does the field factor have an important weight in the playoff? In the historical journey during the 21st century, the results are not at all encouraging for the Celtics who will finish first in the regular season in one of their best years in recent history.
MIAMI AGAINST THE TRACK FACTOR
So far this century, Only one in five franchises that finished first in the regular season reached the NBA Finals. That is, in these 23 editions, the first in the conference only managed to fight for the ring in five of them. Precisely, the Boston Celtics were one of those five teams, when in 07-08, they took the ring, beating the Lakers in which Pau Gasol was 4-2.
The opposite occurs in the West. There, finishing first in the regular season is synonymous with reaching the finals: Almost half of the time a franchise is first in the conference, it ends up fighting for the ring. In the last ten years that percentage has increased to 70% of the time.
If we take into account the first two places, In the East there have been seven finals in which none of these first two franchises have been present, while in the West there have been four. If we look at the last ten years, the data is more revealing: four for the East and one for the West.
LAKERS, SPURS AND WARRIORS: THE FRANCHISES THAT HAVE DOMINATED THIS CENTURY
The case of Miamithe only franchise (from both conferences) in this century to play in two finals, having finished the regular season in fifth and seventh position. It is no coincidence that Erik Spoelstra is considered one of the best coaches in the NBA.
In the East there are more chances of breaking the field factor: Celtics and Cavaliers reached the finals having finished in fourth place. In the West, the fourth-placed team has not been able to play that match dreamed of by many.
The graphs show what is a problem for many and one of the reasons why A change has been proposed in the playoff format: the superiority of the West. There are 15 rings in the last 23 years, The Lakers, the Warriors and the Spurs being the three franchises that have dominated the most in this time.
Of the eight rings in the East, it should be noted that LeBron James has achieved three: two of them when he formed the Big Three in Miami with Wade and Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013, and later, in Cleveland’s epic comeback against the Warriors in 2016, when they became the first team in history to win a Finals that were 3-1 down. That is to say, cThus, 40% of the rings in the East in this century are from LeBron James.
2024-04-03 15:25:30
#Boston #Celtics #history #place #East
