I thought it might go like this.
The top four seeds in the West are set. San Antonio has clinched the #1 seed and home court advantage throughout the conference playoffs. Phoenix is the #2 seed, winning the Pacific Division for the second consecutive year. Denver is tops in the Northwest and has clinched the #3 seed. That leaves the Mavericks, the second best team in the conference and the third best in the league, as the #4 seed.
Unfortunately, the division winners are given the top three seeds in each conference, with the next best team getting that #4 slot. In this case, the Mavs have six more wins than Phoenix and 16 more than Denver, but are seeded below them. This means that the Mavs will likely face San Antonio in the second round of the playoffs if they beat the #5 seed in the first round.
So who will they play? Well, that’s another problem. Right now, the Grizzlies are the #5 seed with a 47-33 record. The Clippers are one game behind them at 46-34, holding down the coveted sixth seed. Oh yeah, the Clippers and Grizzlies play tonight. If the Clippers lose, they’ll wrap up the sixth seed, but if they win, it will come down to the season finale for each team on Wednesday.
Because of this quirky seeding system, the Clippers and Grizzlies are playing in a game tonight that both teams would be better off losing. The #6 seed gets the Nuggets while the #5 seed has to play Dallas. If both seeds manage to win, the #6 seed will get the Suns or Lakers in the second round, while the #5 seed will likely play San Antonio.
As the LA Times put it, this is a no-win situation. I’ve said it before, but anytime you put a team in a position where losing on purpose helps them, you’ve got a problem. The NBA should guarantee division winners a seed in the top four and home court in the first round. That would give Dallas the #2 seed and we wouldn’t have games like the Clippers/Grizzlies matchup tonight. I’m going to tune in just to see what happens. Players never want to lose, but will they put forth maximum effort knowing that a playoff route through Dallas and San Antonio awaits the victor?
I doubt it. You better get on this one, David Stern.
