It's become somewhat of a tradition this time of year to criticize the NBA for the manner by which it seeds the playoffs. The latest to say the system is flawed is Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who believes there is too much emphasis placed on wining a division and that records should mean more when it comes to seeding.
Others have suggested the NBA should scrap conferences altogether and seed the teams 1 through 16 based purely on record.
But what if setting up the playoff bracket was left up to Las Vegas bookmakers? What would the tournament look like if the league seeded it based on odds to win the championship?
Well, here are the first-round matchups with teams ranked by the oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook*:
No. 1 Cavaliers (9/4 odds) vs. No. 16 Bucks (200/1 odds)
No. 2 Warriors (5/2) vs. No. 15 Nets (200/1)
No. 3 Spurs (4/1) vs. No. 14 Celtics (200/1)
No. 4 Hawks (12/1) vs. No. 13 Pelicans (100/1)
No. 5 Bulls (14/1) vs. No. 12 Wizards (60/1)
No. 6 Clippers (14/1) vs. No. 11 Mavericks (60/1)
No. 7 Rockets (14/1) vs. No. 10 Raptors (50/1)
No. 8 Grizzlies (25/1) vs. No. 9 Blazers (50/1) (this is actually the 4-5 matchup in the West)
If form were to hold, second-round matchups would be:
No. 1 Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Grizzlies
No. 2 Warriors vs. No. 7 Rockets
No. 3 Spurs vs. No. 6 Clippers (we're getting this series in the real first round, although the Clippers are the higher seed)
No. 4 Hawks vs. No. 5 Bulls
Relax purists, the league semifinals would look exactly what many expect to happen:
No.1 Cavaliers vs. No. 4 Hawks
No. 2 Warriors vs. No. 3 Spurs
*ties were broken first by odds at William Hill U.S., which worked in the cases of Bulls/Clippers/Rockets and Blazers/Raptors and Mavericks/Wizards. If odds were also level at William Hill (Celtics, Nets, Bucks), the Don Best/Linemakers Power Ratings were used to break the tie.
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