Post by Deleted on May 20, 2017 19:51:19 GMT
1980-81 Phoenix Suns
Thanks to an injury to Magic Johnson that caused him to miss half the season, the Suns nabbed the Pacific Division, the top seed in the West and a first-round bye (the playoff rules prior to 1984). They showed they weren't a top team by losing to the 40-42 Kings in 7 games.
1993-94 Atlanta Hawks
Really don't see how this team won 57 games with essentially the same roster as the year before that only won 43 games. Well, one big difference: the mid-season trade of Dominique Wilkins to the Clippers in exchange for Danny Manning. In either case, the Hawks proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that their No. 1 seed was a fluke. They needed to go the distance to defeat Miami in the first round and then were beaten rather easily in the second round by an upstart Pacers team.
2002-03 Detroit Pistons
Qualified as the No. 1 in the East with only 50 wins, which would have only been good enough for sixth in the West. A great defensive team, but anemic on offense and that weakness caught up with them in the Eastern Conference Finals when New Jersey swept them four straight. Even then, they had a hard time advancing. They needed to come back from 3-1 against the No. 8 Magic, a one-man team and also had trouble putting away Philadelphia, another one-man team.
2013-14 Indiana Pacers
Miami basically spent that season pacing (no pun intended) themselves, so Indiana was No. 1 almost by default. They were fortunate to survive the 37-45 Hawks in the first round and they were ultimately exposed in the ECF by the Heat. The Pacers are the only No. 1 seed I can think of that probably would have lost a Finals matchup to any of the eight postseason qualifiers in the other conference.
2016-17 Boston Celtics
Only No. 1 seed in history to fall behind 2-0 in the first round. They were spared an upset thanks to a convenient injury to Rondo. And now they just suffered the worst defeat for a No. 1 seed in playoff history, by 44 points on their own home court and they're about to get swept. This seems to be a year where nobody really wanted to win the top spot, so it's possible Boston was No. 1 by default.
