ONE of the more interesting side plots at the tail end of the NBA regular season is how the playoff teams try to jockey for position. The main factor for this is that home-court advantage is no longer as important. Good teams can win on the road even in crucial games. One good example is the Boston Celtics last year. They won Game Six in Milwaukee to force a Game Seven at home.

However, you can argue that homecourt was crucial for the Celtics victory in the do-or-die game. We did not say that homecourt was meaningless, just that it's not the most important factor. If it were, teams would keep trying to win every game. The truth is they do not, and it's not about tanking for a draft pick, since we are talking about playoff teams.