Question about Playoff Seedings

[Whisky Dog]

Quick question for anyone in the know:

If the Spurs wind up one game behind the Hornets in the midwest but they end up with a better record than the other two division winners, would they then be the 4th seed but have homecourt advantage over everyone but the Hornets?

[SlovenianGuy]

They would get the 2nd seed.

[Whisky Dog]

They would get the 2nd seed.

No, the 1st three seeds go to the 3 division winners. If the Spurs don't win their division the best they can get is the 4 seed. At least that's how JVG and Jackson were talking about it during the Spurs Rockets game yesterday. I was just wondering who gets home court if the Spurs play the 2 or 3 seed and the Spurs have a better record.

[dbreiden83080]

Quick question for anyone in the know:

If the Spurs wind up one game behind the Hornets in the midwest but they end up with a better record than the other two division winners, would they then be the 4th seed but have homecourt advantage over everyone but the Hornets?

They have a better record than the other division leaders right now and are the 2 seed, so that is where they would be if everything held the same.

[duncan228]

No, the 1st three seeds go to the 3 division winners. If the Spurs don't win their division the best they can get is the 4 seed. At least that's how JVG and Jackson were talking about it during the Spurs Rockets game yesterday. I was just wondering who gets home court if the Spurs play the 2 or 3 seed and the Spurs have a better record.


Not quite:

"The top four seeds will be the three division winners plus the team with the next best record. Those four will be ordered by record (and tiebreakers if needed), so it's possible that two teams in the same division could hold the top two spots, with the other two division winners at Nos. 3 and 4."

http://www.nba.com/features/seedingprimer07.html

Playoff Seeding Primer

SECAUCUS, NJ, April 2, 2007 -- Confused by the new playoff seeding format? Were you confused by the old format?

Last season, much ado was made about the Spurs and Mavs, the teams with the two best records in the Western Conference, meeting in the Conference Semifinals because of the rule that gave the top three seeds to the division winners.

So, during the offseason, that rule was changed so that the two best teams in the conference would not face each other until the Conference Finals, even if they're in the same division.

As the regular season wraps up and some teams clinch playoff berths while others are eliminated, here's everything you need to know about how the playoff brackets are laid out.

The top four seeds will be the three division winners plus the team with the next best record. Those four will be ordered by record (and tiebreakers if needed), so it's possible that two teams in the same division could hold the top two spots, with the other two division winners at Nos. 3 and 4.

Seeds 5 through 8 are the next four teams according to record (and tiebreakers if needed).

First Round matchups are as follows:

1 vs. 8
4 vs. 5
2 vs. 7
3 vs. 6

Conference Semifinals matchups are as follows:

1-8 Winner vs. 4-5 Winner
2-7 Winner vs. 3-6 Winner

Homecourt advantage for any series is determined by record, not seed. So, it's possible that the 5 seed could have homecourt advantage over the 4, or that the 6 seed could have homecourt advantage over the 3.

Tiebreakers

(1) Head-to-head
(2) Division record (if the teams are in the same division)
(3) Conference record
(4) Record vs. Playoff teams, own conference
(5) Record vs. Playoff teams, other conference
(6) Net points, all games

[ss1986v2]

No, the 1st three seeds go to the 3 division winners. If the Spurs don't win their division the best they can get is the 4 seed.
wrong. division winners are only guaranteed one of the top 4 spots. thats why utah is 4th in the standings.

[FromWayDowntown]

No, the 1st three seeds go to the 3 division winners. If the Spurs don't win their division the best they can get is the 4 seed.

That's not true at all. The top 4 seeds go to the 3 division winners and the team with the next best record. The seeds are awarded in order of the records of the teams as well. Last year, for example, the Jazz won the Northwest but were the 4th seed (The Spurs, 2nd in the Southwest) were the 3rd seed.

[FromWayDowntown]

I see the confusion has been adequately dispelled.

[Otaku]

No, 3 division winners and the best "no winner" team go to the 1st 4 places in the playoff seed, but their record is what counts. So they can be 2nd seed finishing 2nd in their division.

[Whisky Dog]

Ok, I didn't know that they lumped the team with the best record in with the 3 division winners in taking the top seeds. That makes more sense, but I see there can still be scenarios where the 5 or 6 seed could meet a 3 or 4 seed and the lower seed gets HC due to record. That was what I was originally wondering. Everyone, thanks for the help.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

No, the 1st three seeds go to the 3 division winners. If the Spurs don't win their division the best they can get is the 4 seed. At least that's how JVG and Jackson were talking about it during the Spurs Rockets game yesterday.


No, that's the way it USED to be. Then, the Spurs were given the 4th seed because they finished 2nd to the Mavs, but the Spurs had the 2nd best record. And the Spurs had to play the Mavs in the second round. No one thought that made sense, so they changed the rules.



I was just wondering who gets home court if the Spurs play the 2 or 3 seed and the Spurs have a better record.

When two teams play each other in the playoffs, HCA is determined by comparing their regular-season records. Seeding is not a factor when determining HCA. It's been this way for quite a while.

[Whisky Dog]

No, that's the way it USED to be. Then, the Spurs were given the 4th seed because they finished 2nd to the Mavs, but the Spurs had the 2nd best record. And the Spurs had to play the Mavs in the second round. No one thought that made sense, so they changed the rules.



When two teams play each other in the playoffs, HCA is determined by comparing their regular-season records. Seeding is not a factor when determining HCA. It's been this way for quite a while.

I knew they changed some aspects after last year, I just didn't know what they had changed.

I still think it's absurd that a 5 or 6 seed can have home court over a 3 or 4. If that's the case, what's the benefit of being the higher seed? I guess the logic is to reward the division winners by giving them a higher seed regardless of record and set them up with a weaker opening round opponent, but in a year like this year that won't be the case. I say they just line 'em up by record 1-8 and seed it like that.

[FromWayDowntown]

I knew they changed some aspects after last year, I just didn't know what they had changed.

I still think it's absurd that a 5 or 6 seed can have home court over a 3 or 4. If that's the case, what's the benefit of being the higher seed? I guess the logic is to reward the division winners by giving them a higher seed regardless of record and set them up with a weaker opening round opponent, but in a year like this year that won't be the case. I say they just line 'em up by record 1-8 and seed it like that.

I would agree that it would make more sense to assure the division winner of a playoff birth, no matter what; in practice, though, the division winner will almost always get into the playoffs just in a sheer numbers game. It's pretty hard to win a division and have 8 of 10 teams in the other 2 divisions posting better records than yours.

[Allanon]

This year it doesn't make a difference because there is a quality team atop all the divisions. Celtics, Pistons, Magic. Hornets, Lakers, Jazz.

But in the years past before Boston, the Atlantic division winner has been a totally inferior team that needed the top 4 seed to ensure a weak first round opponent. If not they would have been #8 and obliterated by somebody like Detroit in the first round.

If you think about it, if there was no top 4 seeding for a bad division, you would see the entire division tanking 1-2 months for lottery balls. That's bad for competition and bad for the NBA. With this method, there will always be a few teams competing in each division since it means you'll actually have a chance to play a weak team in the 1st round of the Playoffs. 1st + 2nd round Playoffs = $$$ millions extra in revenue.