NBA playoffs lack drama

link PNT staff writer

Every night after work, the first thing I find channel surfing is whatever game is still on. I’ve had my choice between the NBA and NHL playoffs, and I keep choosing the NHL.

I’ve been a hockey fan since I was a kid, and even played roller hockey often as a teenager in New York City. For the last three years I’ve paid less and less attention to the NBA playoffs.

For starters, the NBA season is too long, evidenced by star players now taking games and sometimes a full week off. In hockey that doesn’t happen; the players seem to manage the season better and skating is much easier on the knees than running on hardwood.

Another reason for my lack in interest is the biggest reason we watch sports and what every basketball fan loves about March Madness — upsets.

An 8 seed beating a 1 seed is so rare in the NBA, you know all five times it happened and the mitigating circumstances. Most recently, the 2001-12 Chicago Bulls lost largely due to MVP Derrick Rose getting injured at the end of Game 1 and Joakim Noah going down later.

The same year in the NHL? The Los Angeles Kings, seeded eighth in the West, went 16-4 and took their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. They won it again last year by winning three road Game 7s, and they didn’t even make the field this year.

Further, the NBA has had 68 champions — 48 were No. 1 seeds, 10 No. 2 seeds and seven No. 3 seeds. The two outliers are the 1969 Boston Celtics and 1995 Houston Rockets. The 1999 Knicks are the only No. 8 seed to reach the Finals, but they did that in a lockout-shortened season and got crushed by San Antonio.

The numbers don’t lie: The NBA and NHL both have 16-team fields, but the lower seeds in the NBA are just playing out the series. Entering Wednesday, five teams have a 2-0 series lead in the NBA playoffs. In the NHL, two series are at 3-0 and the other six will go at least five games.

Then look at the NFL playoffs. Sure, the top two teams made the Super Bowl, but we got late penalty calls that swung games and a Green Bay-Seattle NFC championship game that Seattle won despite trailing by 12 with three minutes left.

When it comes to drama in the playoffs, I’ll stick with hockey. NBA, call me when the conference finals start.

Derek Major covers sports for the Portales News-Tribune.