East Group C:

Celtics: 3-1 (+27)

Magic: 3-1 (+22)

Nets: 3-1 (+10)

The Nets beating the Raptors created a 3-way tie between the top 3 teams in the group (Celtics beat Nets, Magic beat Celtics, Nets beat Magic), so point differential decides the winner of the group.

  • dt26@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    This is possibly a little reactionary based on how the East C Group shook out, but I think for a 4 match group stage it could be more interesting if the tie-breaker was points differential first then H2H, giving teams more control over their own destiny. For example tonight the Nets were reliant on the Celtics losing to have a chance to progress, as the Cs held the H2H advantage, but if it was points differential then they could have tried to ball out and give themselves a chance.

    It also puts more emphasis on margin of victory, which isn’t typically a thing of importance in the NBA. Teams might be more willing to put effort in the 4th Quarter of a blowout to either continue boosting that differential or limit the damage, rather than it becoming 12 minutes of garbage time.