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The NBA playoffs have finally arrived. But before we get to some handicapping info, am I alone in thinking that too many teams are allowed to enter the "tournament" ? As I like to call the postseason.
There are 30 NBA franchises, yet 16 make the playoffs. That's 53.3 percent of the league! Isn't the postseason supposed to feature the best of the best? Do teams that barely win more than 51 percent of their games deserve to be featured?
In the Eastern Conference you have the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Indiana Pacers with a combined 12 games OVER .500! That's pathetic.
The Western Conference was a solid one this season. At least their eighth seed, the Memphis Grizzlies won 54.9% of their games. The 7th seeded Denver Nuggets finished 16 games over .500. Now that's a playoff team deserving to be where they are.
Of course the NBA will never reduce the # of playoff teams due to the revenue. But the league should stop insulting the public by calling these "playoffs". It's a tournament simple as that.
Let's take a look at some days rest statistics that should help in evaluating the playoff teams. The NBA loves to spread out their playoff matchups. Two days rest or more is an interesting factor for these units.
The Boston Celtics played eight games since Feb. 16th with at least two days rest or more. They went 4-4 straight up yet only 1-7 against the spread.
The Dallas Mavericks played only five games since Feb. 1st in this situation, going 4-1 SU, and 3-2 ATS.
The Denver Nuggets and head coach George Karl have the most impressive resume in this situation. They have won seven games both SU and ATS since February 1st. Keep an eye out here for the Golden Nuggets!
The Detroit Pistons have played very well, winning six out of seven straight up, and 4-3 against the spread since February 1st.
Houston finished the season in great fashion, posting a 7-0 both SU and ATS mark. Dating back to Jan. 24th they went 5-2 both SU and ATS with two days rest or more. But how will the loss of forward Juwan Howard affect their playoff run?
The Indiana Pacers have battled injuries, suspensions, and just about everything you could imagine. Since Feb. 16th they played seven games with two days of rest or more and won six tilts both straight up and against the spread! Think this veteran unit has what it takes?
The Memphis Grizzlies have battled to get healthy all year. They responded in great fashion with the extra rest. Mike Fratello’s team has gone 9-2 SU and 8-3 ATS since Jan. 25.
The Phoenix Suns, who posted the best overall record (62-20) in the league have been a bit of a surprise with two days rest. You'd think that this run-n-gun unit would have a big advantage here? All rested and ready to run you out of any building. They are 7-4 straight up, yet ONLY 2-9 against the spread since Feb.5!
So you see that some of these NBA playoff units really respond one way or the other to the valued rest. Keep an eye out here, especially after a team wins their series and waits longer than usual for the next round.
