The Unwritten Rule of Playoff Basketball

Question

There is an unwritten rule when it comes to playoff basketball. A rule that is so profound and powerful that it is almost as reliable as any law of physics. And like those well know laws that remained hidden for so long, this one too only reveals itself to the most astute and discerning mind. To make a long story even longer, a friend and I stumbled up this “law of nature,” after years watching basketball. In other words, after years of wasting our lives away during April, May and June when most young men (those with looks, money, the gift of gab or all three) were fulfilling another law of nature: i.e., getting laid, along with all the other happy creatures under the sky. Now, finally, after years of keeping this secret to myself, since that’s all I have to hold onto from my wasted youth (while the rest of you have memories of your conquests and wild, passionate nights), I will shortly reveal it to you…but not after I keep you in suspense and guessing for a little while longer. Yes, I want you (those of you who were busy getting laid, while I was watching men in tight little shorts putting an orange ball through a hoop) to think about how good you had it (or have it), and what I had to sacrifice (and suffer through) in order to bring this unwritten rule/law of playoff basketball to you for the first time in history…

begginerboy · Answer

There is an unwritten rule when it comes to playoff basketball. A rule that is so profound and powerful that it is almost as reliable as any law of physics. And like those well know laws that remained hidden for so long, this one too only reveals itself to the most astute and discerning mind. To make a long story even longer, a friend and I stumbled up this “law of nature,” after years watching basketball. In other words, after years of wasting our lives away during April, May and June when most young men (those with looks, money, the gift of gab or all three) were fulfilling another law of nature: i.e., getting laid, along with all the other happy creatures under the sky. Now, finally, after years of keeping this secret to myself, since that’s all I have to hold onto from my wasted youth (while the rest of you have memories of your conquests and wild, passionate nights), I will shortly reveal it to you…but not after I keep you in suspense and guessing for a little while longer. Yes, I want you (those of you who were busy getting laid, while I was watching men in tight little shorts putting an orange ball through a hoop) to think about how good you had it (or have it), and what I had to sacrifice (and suffer through) in order to bring this unwritten rule/law of playoff basketball to you for the first time in history…

SausageTitz · Answer

Closet Q.ueer

begginerboy · Answer

Unfortunately, no. Otherwise my closet would have been seeing plenty of action.

begginerboy · Answer

You are a psychiatrist and you actually think people tell the truth?

Champ_Iz_Here · Answer

BB = Scal = Bob

GeneCam27 · Answer

LOL I just wrote something in SCALs wizard thread.....Not sure if you;re talking about that lol.

kaponofor3 · Answer

Oh my god please tell us we can&#x27;t wait what is this great secret?!

Liturgy_of_Fade · Answer

What have you got for us BB?

best_bets · Answer

This will be the mother of all threads I am sure of it!

begginerboy · Answer

Guys, im gonna have to keep you guessing for a while longer as my wife just kicked me out of the house for carrying on my homosocial relations with you all, even though i promised her on mothers day that i would stop.

best_bets · Answer

If you&#x27;d tell her you&#x27;re bi perhaps all will be forgiven?

RodWoman · Answer

Guarantee it involves the refs and "The League".

begginerboy · Answer

Wrong.

lastchance0910 · Answer

HAHAHA.........I&#x27;ve enjoyed your write-ups in the pass: I can think of a few positive adjectives to describe your writing. Thats way it makes this a little intriguing.lol&#xD;&#xA;Had this been almost anyone else, it would be a joke......&#xD;&#xA;That being said........

best_bets · Answer

I&#x27;ve hit my refresh button so much in anticipation of your answer my finger has a blister. Must we beg the (beg)ginnerboy for his "homosocial" answer?

best_bets · Answer

At this rate the "Unwritten Rule" may stay that way forever! I&#x27;ll check back here tomorrow just in case

promaster13 · Answer

Will this rule make us money bro?

Dirk_Werner41 · Answer

Offense wins games and defense wins championships?  Pacers to win the championship?

begginerboy · Answer

For all of you who waited patiently, here it is. And I hope it is worth your while.

The law says: In a series between two evenly matched teams, the team that gives away a game (and understanding what this means is crucial to understanding the law) will lose the series 90% of the time; a percentage that is directly proportional to their chances of winning the game they gave away.

Basketball playoff history is so replete with examples of this that I can’t believe no one discovered this law sooner. Before I delve in to the examples, however, we have to define what we mean by “give away a game.” Of course, there is a subjective element to saying a team gave away a game, so we will have to do our best to remove that level of subjectivity from our definition. We do that by saying, a team gives away a game when (within the laws of statistical probability) they had a 90% or more chance of winning that game (meaning, they would win that game 9 out of ten times in that exact situation) when they proceeded to lose it. A team losing a game on a last second shot is not enough to qualify under this law unless what transpired before that shot was so unlikely and improbable that it would not happen 90% of the time.

Now let’s give some concrete examples to show what we mean.

One of my favorite examples (and one we’ve see in a countless time on replays) was Bird stealing the inbound pass from Isiah in game 5 of the ECF, and feeding it to DJ for the score and the win. That loss was so devastating for the Pistons (who were, to my mind, the better team that year, as the Celtics were old, beat-up and on their decline) that they never recovered, even though they won the next game.

Other examples, in no particular order, are: from this year’s playoffs, the Grizz up by 5 with about a minute to play in game 4, with KD and Westbrook shooting bricks, go to OT and lose the game. Although they won game 5, they never recovered from that loss and lost the series. The 2000 Blazers/Lakers series had two such games. First, game 3, where the Blazers were ahead for the 1st three quarters only to lose by 2 at the end. And then, of course, there was their historic game 7 meltdown, where they were up 75-60 in the 4th. Game 2 of Heat/Mavs series, during the 2011 finals, with the Heat up 88-73 with 7:15 to play in the game (LBJ and Wade were preening), collapsed and lost. The Heat, like all the others, never recovered from that loss. The Spurs, last year’s game 6, up 93-89 (with 28 seconds to play) missed a couple of free throws, which they would normally make, only to have Ray Allen send the game to OT, and lose. Game 3 of Mavs/Heat 2006 Finals, Mavs were up 91-81 with 5 minutes to play (about to go up 3-0 in the series) and they only end up scoring 5 more points in the next five minutes, losing the game by two points 96-98 and never winning another game.

Of course, there are many reasons why this law hold true so often, reasons that I don't have time to get into, lest my wife bans me from the bedroom. So I'll just end with this:

Which team does this law apply to, as we sit here today: You guessed it, the OKC Thunder.

A note to Scal: I need a snazzy name to this law, like your law of national embarrassment.

The Unwritten Rule of Playoff Basketball

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