NBA's Division rule (seeding)

[ArbitraryWater]

I hate it as much as the conference / 82 games thing... if they were to cut the conferences then obviously this would go to.

Because of this Division rule, it's actually impossible for the Clippers to finish as 2nd seed... likely have to settle for the Spurs.

[RightToCensor]

It's sad that a team with the 9th or 10th best record in their conference can get the 4th Seed if they are winning their division.

[qrich]

Clippers can finish 2nd tho?

[BuffaloBill]

That's not how it works OP. The team with the 2nd best record will get the 2nd seed regardless of division.

[ihatetimthomas]

Clippers can get 2nd or 3rd. All they need to do is have a better record than houston, memphis and Portland. They currently have a better record than Portland but are 5th because division leaders get homecourt. But if they pass Memphis or Houston, they can move up to 2nd or 3rd

[ArbitraryWater]

Clippers can finish 2nd tho?

This is what I just read on Twitter:

1. Best rec (Division winner)
2. Div win - 2nd best rec
3. 3rd best rec (or div win)
4. 4th best rec

3rd is the highest they can go.

I'm actually still confused since they couldn't go over POR and I thought of the top 3 spots are guaranteed to all 3 divison winners, but HOU/MEM are 2nd/3rd, same division.

Ethan Strauss and Mavs Outsider/ESPN Dallas (Bryan Gutierrez) said they can only go as high as 3.

[Young X]

Clippers can get 2nd or 3rd. All they need to do is have a better record than houston, memphis and Portland. They currently have a better record than Portland but are 5th because division leaders get homecourt. But if they pass Memphis or Houston, they can move up to 2nd or 3rdBut won't Houston or Memphis still have the advantage over LAC by being #1 in their division regardless of their records?

[BuffaloBill]

This is what I just read on Twitter:

1. Best rec (Division winner)
2. Div win - 2nd best rec
3. 3rd best rec (or div win)
4. 4th best rec

3rd is the highest they can go.

I'm actually still confused since they couldn't go over POR and I thought of the top 3 spots are guaranteed to all 3 divison winners, but HOU/MEM are 2nd/3rd, same division.

Ethan Strauss and Mavs Outsider/ESPN Dallas (Bryan Gutierrez) said they can only go as high as 3.


That's wrong. Each division winner is guaranteed a top 4 seed. So basically the only thing that rule guarantees is that the division winner will not go below 4th seed. The 2nd spot will always go to the team with the 2nd best record, even if they're in the same division as the #1 team. That's why Portland has the 4 seed and not the 3 seed

[24-Inch_Chrome]

This is what I just read on Twitter:

1. Best rec (Division winner)
2. Div win - 2nd best rec
3. 3rd best rec (or div win)
4. 4th best rec

3rd is the highest they can go.

I'm actually still confused since they couldn't go over POR and I thought of the top 3 spots are guaranteed to all 3 divison winners, but HOU/MEM are 2nd/3rd, same division.

Ethan Strauss and Mavs Outsider/ESPN Dallas (Bryan Gutierrez) said they can only go as high as 3.

I thought the division lead just guaranteed a top-4 spot?

From the Wikipedia article on the NBA playoffs:



The team that has the best record in each of the three divisions in each conference is declared division champion. The three division champions, and another team in the conference with the best record, are seeded one through four by their records. This guarantees the division champions no worse than the fourth seed, and also guarantees the team with the second-best record in the conference will be the second seed even if it happens to finish second in its division.

[ArbitraryWater]

That's wrong. Each division winner is guaranteed a top 4 seed. So basically the only thing that rule guarantees is that the division winner will not go below 4th seed. The 2nd spot will always go to the team with the 2nd best record, even if they're in the same division as the #1 team. That's why Portland has the 4 seed and not the 3 seed

mmm yea sounds familiar.. why these ESPN guys so missinformed then?!


I thought the division lead just guaranteed a top-4 spot?

From the Wikipedia article on the NBA playoffs:

yep, you right.. I don't remember this being an issue the last years.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

mmm yea sounds familiar.. why these ESPN guys so missinformed then?!



yep, you right.. I don't remember this being an issue the last years.

It's an odd system, I can't think of another sport where a wild card slot can take seeding precedence over a division leader.

[qrich]

Clippers can get 2nd or 3rd. All they need to do is have a better record than houston, memphis and Portland. They currently have a better record than Portland but are 5th because division leaders get homecourt. But if they pass Memphis or Houston, they can move up to 2nd or 3rd

Clippers will have home court versus Portland despite being a lower seed. See the 2006 playoffs when the 6th seeded Clippers had home court over the third seeded and division winning Nuggets.



The way the seeding works is that Division Winners are guaranteed a top four seed, however, that does NOT mean they get home court if the fifth seed has a superior record.

In this case, if things hold, Clippers would host Portland. However, if they can make up to 1.5 game deficit, they will get the second seed. If they can make up the 1 game deficit over Memphis, they will get the third seed.

It used to be that the Division Winner was guaranteed a top 3 seed, but it was changed about five-six years ago, iirc.

[RoseCity07]

Clippers can get 2nd or 3rd. All they need to do is have a better record than houston, memphis and Portland. They currently have a better record than Portland but are 5th because division leaders get homecourt. But if they pass Memphis or Houston, they can move up to 2nd or 3rd

But the division leader isn't guaranteed to get homecourt. The way I'm hearing it works is that Blazers would not get the homecourt advantage if they finish with a worse record than the Clippers or Spurs. I think in the event of a tie then winning the division will trump the season series records.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

But the division leader isn't guaranteed to get homecourt. The way I'm hearing it works is that Blazers would not get the homecourt advantage if they finish with a worse record than the Clippers or Spurs. I think in the event of a tie then winning the division will trump the season series records.

Yeah, the first tiebreaker is the division lead. The complete list is as follows.



Two-team tiebreaker:

1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
2. Better record in head-to-head games
3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
4. Higher winning percentage in conference games
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference (including tied teams)
6. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference (including tied teams)

Three-team tiebreaker:

1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
2. Best head-to-head winning percentage among all teams tied
3. Highest winning percentage within division (if all tied teams are in the same division)
4. Highest winning percentage in conference games
5. Highest winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference (including tied teams)
6. Highest point differential between points scored and points allowed

[UK2K]

That's wrong. Each division winner is guaranteed a top 4 seed. So basically the only thing that rule guarantees is that the division winner will not go below 4th seed. The 2nd spot will always go to the team with the 2nd best record, even if they're in the same division as the #1 team. That's why Portland has the 4 seed and not the 3 seed
Pretty sure this is right.

If Clips had the 2nd best record, then the seeds 1-8 would be seeded according to record from best to worst, regardless of division winners.

You normally don't even notice it, unless one of the division leaders has a worse record than a team that is second in their division.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Rather sure it's a prerequisite to be misinformed if you want to work for ESPN.