Does the NBA Regular Matter?

With so many teams making the playoffs why bother playing the regular season? Yes I know Golden State knocked off the Mavs last year but did the best teams play in the finals?

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I can see your point. It's pretty obvious what teams you'll see in the playoffs (Spurs, Celtics, Suns, Lakers).

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Money, money and money. You can tell how much the regular season means by the lack of effort most players put out. Watch the last two minutes and save time.
yes
spurs definitely deserved to be there last year. cavs were a fluke. detroit should have been the ones there. but it would be an even worst nba finals with even lower ratings. of course thats what the NBA really care about most, $$$ and ratings.

the regular season matters to an extent, you still need to see who gets in to the playoffs but you dont have to be like dallas and win 67 games only to lose to an 8th seed.

especially in the west where it is so competitive, the regular season does matter because not everyone in the west can get the first 8 seeds.
everyone knows last years final was suppose to be the Phoenix Suns vs the Detroit Pistons. The Suns were robbed by the ref's in the San Antonio series and the Pistons made the mistake of playing to the opponents level and suffered from a bit of bad coaching in a loss to a less talented Cav's team. But to your original question, yes the regular season does matter to a degree. How you play in the regular season determines your fait in the playoffs. Home court, regardless of the Mav's slip up last year, does matter, and striving to have the best record in the confrence garuntees that your first opponent will be the 8th seed which "should" be a gimme series. Usually, one of the top 3 teams in each confrence makes it to the finals. Not to mention, in the regular season is when teams discover their identity, as a good, and not so good team. This years Heat team is a good example of that.
I'll say yes the Season does matter...you need some format to determine seeding which the NBA uses and the regular season is best suited for that format....I personally wouldnt mind reducing the amount of games in the season..(I think 82 is alot)...but that's my personal opinion....

And yes the best team did play in the Finals.....but it helped that both Cleveland and San Antonio had favorable match-ups
noo
yes
It determines who makes the playoffs.