What Makes The NBA Playoffs So Special?

Yes folks, this is that time of the year. The NBA regular season just wrapped up, and the playoffs are already looming large.  The excitement is palpable and you can almost feel the electricity in the air as 16 teams, some luckier than others, but all equally deserving, embark on the quest for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. 16 teams for title? Is it that wide open? Or is it a mirage (for most of them, obviously)?

The NBA is the most predictable of all major American and European sports leagues. Just looking at the stats, the evidence suggests that if you’re seeded in the top three in your respective conference, the odds at winning it all are overwhelmingly favorable. Indeed, since the NBA expanded its playoffs to the current 16-team format in 1984, on only one occasion has a team ranked outside the top three of its conference gone on to win it all. The odd man out? The 1995 Houston Rockets, who were seeded sixth in the Western Conference. What about runner-ups, then?

The only team not ranked in the top three in its conference to ever reach the NBA Finals in that span of nearly three decades is the 1999 New York Knicks who would become the first No. 8 seed to knock out a No. 1, the Miami Heat, on their way to the finals. However, one could argue that the seeding during the 1998-99 season was misleading at best, or irrelevant at worst, since it was a lockout-plagued campaign trimmed down to only 50 games.

Therefore, the facts give further relevance to the NBA regular season and more credence to the scheme of home-court advantage. Yet, despite the predictability factor, you would be hard-pressed not to concede that the NBA playoffs are as exciting, dramatic and spectacular as those of any major American and European sports league. Why is that? This is the how that makes all the difference.

       One of the ingredients that make the playoffs special is the intensity. During the playoffs, NBA players give it all out on both ends of the floor. They play like there is no tomorrow as they understand that every possession counts. You’ll see them heroically diving for a ball or fearlessly taking a charge with no regard for their body integrity, as bumps and bruises and sweats are to serve the greater good and inspire the team to the ultimate victory. The margin for error is also quite slim; as they say, ‘Win or go home!’ (TNT playoffs coverage slogan)

The tournament is also about matchups. In any battle, the side that can dictate the pace and impose its will has already done 50 percent of the task; the other half is only about execution. This is true in military strategy, and even more so in basketball. This is where X’s and O’s come into play. Anyone who’s seen the movie ‘300’ knows what I’m talking about. The only way the 300 Spartans were able to block the Persian army of more than one million soldiers, is through rational and efficient ‘use of terrain,’ which translated into ‘force multipliers.’ That is exactly what every coach strives to achieve in trying to dictate the pace of the game and create mismatches to their advantage against their opponents. Thereby, a coach of a young athletic team will try to push the ball and speed up the pace to get easy buckets in transition as opposed to the one who has an older more experience team who will try to slow the pace down and get into half-court set-ups where speed and athleticism are neutralized and where fundamentals and defense rule supremely. This constant quest for that competitive edge and the clash of contrasting styles just enrich the chess-like mind game. That confluence of fortunes only translates into smart basketball strategies and tactics.

Moreover, the one or two days' rest is a game-changer. No back-to-back games or jet lag while the opponent was resting. Every team is on equal footing. This reduces the risks and hazards, and hence randomness, which are very influential in some inexplicable wins and losses during the regular season. Furthermore, the rest also allows coaches to make adjustments; that ability not only to identify and adapt to the opponent’s game plan, but also to develop a response to the sole purpose of thwarting and disrupting the opposition’s strategy. In other words, it’s the purest form of advanced tactics.

Above all, the playoffs confer glory and immortality. More than a competitive sport, the NBA is an entertainment to which the playoffs are the climax. Therefore, as such, it is driven by star power. To begin to understand how paramount star power is to a sport, imagine how a once mainstream sport like heavyweight boxing has stumbled into the abyss of irrelevance. The chief reason is plain and simple: lack of star power. Since the infamous Dark Ages of the late 70s, the NBA has never lacked the zest and flair that capture the imagination of both dedicated and casual fans. There were Magic and Larry in the 80s and Michael in the 90s. With less flair but equal efficiency, Shaquille and Tim took over the noughties. Now this era belongs to Kobe and LeBron. The playoffs offer them the grandest stage to shine in front of a worldwide audience riveted to their every move. Think of it as a movie where the leading roles are already cast. The only thing missing here is the drama that is yet to unfold as we already know the best of the best shall prevail.

As regular season brilliance builds an All-Star, playoffs success defines a superstar and NBA Finals achievement enshrines a legend.

So let the journey begin!

N.B. Picture credits to the NBA Daily Newsletter of 4/15/2010