The Los Angeles Clippers have clinched at least the three seed in the West but if they keep that position, they would play against a sixth-seeded team with a win-loss record near the top of the Western Conference. This is an outcome that Coach Doc Rivers isn’t pleased with.
The current seeding format guarantees that the top-four-seeds are the four division winners. The Portland Trail Blazers, who have a record of 51-30 with one game remaining, will be the 4-seed despite holding the sixth-best record in the West. Because of this, if the Clippers hold on to the 3-seed, they will play the Memphis Grizzlies (54-27), Houston Rockets (55-26) or San Antonio Spurs (55-26). All these teams play on Wednesday and will determine the Southwest Division winner and the No. 5 and 6 seeds.
“That’s a flaw. I think the divisions are important. They’re nice to have. They’re nice to be celebrated, for some and some not, but I don’t know if they should be celebrated as far as in the standings. I think it’s something that the league will absolutely look at and try to fix. You shouldn’t be rewarded if your record [isn’t as good as others],” said Rivers.
Rivers also doesn’t like that division winners get the first tiebreaker if tied with a non-division winner.
“I just think if you tie with us, let’s say if we had gone undefeated against a team but our records are tied and they would get home court, that to me is insane. That’s worse in some ways to me, because head-to-head should always go first. But there are flaws and you fix them, and I think the league will look at that.”
I think he Clippers should just stay focus and stop making excuses. No matter what they do during the regular season, I think their overall success will be determined by how long of a run they can make in the playoffs.
HT: ESPN