Let’s start with a trivia question: When was the last time a team seeded outside of the top three won the NBA championship?
Answer: 1995, when the 6-seed Houston Rockets defeated Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic in a four-game sweep.
Ponder that for a moment. Bill Clinton was president of the United States, “ER” was higher in the ratings than “Seinfeld,” and Bryan Adams’ “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart the last time a team seeded fourth or lower went on to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Still interested in betting the 4-seed Philadelphia 76ers at 13-1 to win the title?
That certainly doesn’t mean it can’t happen this spring. After all, when was the last time we witnessed a squad as talented as Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets enter the playoffs with such a low seeding? But as we get set to embark upon this magical journey known as the 2022 NBA playoffs, it’s at least worth noting that a top-2 seed has won 12 of the past 14 titles, while only four of the past 44 teams to reach the NBA Finals over the previous 22 seasons have been seeded fourth or lower.
Now that I’ve got your cerebral cortex firing on all cylinders, here are some other angles I like to contemplate every NBA postseason before walking up to the betting window.
19 of the past 20 NBA champions have ranked in the top 10 in defensive efficiency
A tired cliché, no doubt. However, there’s wisdom in the oft-repeated “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships” analysis we encounter every year at this time.
It’s no secret that scoring has been on the rise in the NBA. During the 2001-2002 regular season, the Dallas Mavericks led the Association in points per game at 105.2. This season, the Oklahoma City Thunder ranked dead last in scoring at…
Source : espn
