What would happen if NBA playoffs were played like NCAA Tournament? Imagine the madness
Say the NBA playoffs was like the NCAA Tournament.
One-and-done. Win or really go home. That wouldn't be March Madness. Try pure insanity.
Imagine Phoenix or Milwaukee getting knocked out in the first round.
Say the conference champions earn the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and then you seed the remaining teams based solely on record. If teams have the same record, head-to-head is the tiebreaker. If it’s still even, their conference record will decide.
So here are the seedings 1-16 (records through Wednesday's games).
No. 1 Phoenix Suns (59-14, Western Conference champion)
No. 2 Miami Heat (47-26, Eastern Conference champion)
No. 3 Memphis Grizzlies (50-23)
No. 4 Golden State Warriors (48-25)
No. 5 Philadelphia 76ers (45-27)*
No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks (45-27)*
No. 7 Boston Celtics (46-28)
No. 8 Utah Jazz (45-28)**
No. 9 Dallas Mavericks (45-28)**
No. 10 Denver Nuggets (43-30)
No. 11 Chicago Bulls (42-30)
No. 12 Cleveland Cavaliers (41-31)
No. 13 Minnesota Timberwolves (42-32)
No. 14 Toronto Raptors (40-32)
No. 15 Brooklyn Nets (38-35)
No. 16 Charlotte Hornets (37-36)
* Season series: Tied 1-1. Conference record: 76ers (27-17), Bucks (27-18).
** Season series: Jazz leads 2-1.
Have The top four seeds host a region. Play the Final Four in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Phoenix Region
(16) Hornets vs. (1) Suns (Phoenix won series, 2-0)
(9) Mavs vs. (8) Jazz (Utah leads series, 2-1)
San Francisco Region
(13) Timberwolves vs. (4) Warriors (Season series tied, 2-2)
(12) Cavs vs. (5) 76ers (Philadelphia leads series, 3-0)
Memphis Region
(14) Raptors vs. (3) Grizzlies (Series tied, 1-1)
(11) Bulls vs. (6) Bucks (Milwaukee leads series, 3-0)
Miami Region
(15) Nets vs. (2) Heat (Miami leads series, 3-0)
(10) Nuggets vs. (7) Celtics (Boston won series, 2-0)
Now how would these play out?
Phoenix Region – Suns def. Hornets; Mavs top Jazz; Suns beat Jazz.
Outcome: LaMelo Ball goes for 36, but Suns slow everyone else down to pull out a close one at home. Luka Doncic hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Mavs to Elite Eight, but Phoenix too much in regional final.
San Francisco Region – Warriors def. T-Wolves, 76ers top Cavs, 76ers beat Warriors.
Outcome: Warriors hit 21 shots from deep in blitzing of T-Wolves. The 76ers top Cleveland again before stunning the Warriors as James Harden posts triple-double in revenge game from 2018 playoffs.
Memphis Region – Grizzlies def. Raptors, Bucks top Bulls, Bucks beat Grizzlies.
Outcome: Ja Morant was all world against Raptors in scoring 45 points. The defending NBA champion Bucks continue their dominance over Chicago and then show the Grizzlies they’re a year away in upset win.
Miami Region – Nets def. Heat, Celtics top Nuggets, Celtics defeat Nets
Outcome: Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combine for 79 in stunner while Denver was easy prey for the Celtics to set up a big-time regional final. Boston’s top-ranked defense cools Irving and Durant in win.
Final Four
(5) Jazz vs. (1) Suns (Phoenix leads series, 2-1)
(14) Nets vs. (4) Celtics (Boston wins series, 3-1)
Results – Suns def. Jazz, Celtics top Nets.
Why? Suns slow down Jazz red-hot 3-point shooting just enough to edge Utah while Brooklyn continues to have no answer for Jayson Tatum, who scores 45 in leading Celtics to championship game.
Title game
(4) Celtics vs. (1) Suns (Series tied 1-1)
Result – Celtics def. Suns
Why?: Boston showed once again why defense wins championships by limiting Booker to 10-of-25 shooting. Tatum wins Final Four MVP after a 39-point performance in the title game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What would happen if NBA playoffs were like NCAA's March Madness?
