It’s been a subject of conversation on Twitter and at water coolers for the past month: This year’s NBA playoffs have been boring as hell.
Ratings for this postseason have been up and down, but with both conference finals series so anticlimactic, TNT, ABC and ESPN probably have some bad news coming. Boring series obviously make for less viewership, and these playoffs seems to have featured some very boring series.
But is the talk really true? Have these playoffs been worse than usual? If so, then how much worse? To find out, we compared this year’s playoffs and the five that proceeded it. This isn’t the only way to evaluate how exciting a postseason is—it doesn’t take into account the drama of individual games or longer-arcing storylines—but it’s one way to get a quick idea.
2017
First-round games (of a possible 56): 44
Second-round games (of a possible 28): 21
Conference Finals games (of a possible 14): 9*
Total games (of a possible 98): 74
Game 7s: 2
Game 6s: 7
*including the upcoming Cavs-Celtics Game 5.
2016
First-round games: 44
Second-round games: 21
Conference finals games: 13
Total games through conference finals: 78
Finals games: 7
Total games (of a possible 105): 85
Game 7s: 5
Game 6s: 9
2015
First-round games: 41
Second-round games: 25
Conference Finals games: 9
Total games through conference finals: 75
Finals games: 6
Total games: 81
Game 7s: 2
Game 6s: 8
2014
First-round games: 50
Second-round games: 22
Conference Finals games: 12
Total games through conference finals: 84
Finals games: 5
Total games: 89
Game 7s: 5
Game 6s: 10
2013
First-round games: 45
Second-round games: 22
Conference Finals games: 11
Total games through conference finals: 78
Finals games: 7
Total games: 85
Game 7s: 3
Game 6s: 10
2012
First-round games: 44
Second-round games: 22
Conference Finals games: 13
Total games through conference finals: 81
Finals games: 5
Total games: 86
Game 7s: 4
Game 6s: 8
So what conclusions can we draw?
In the first round, the 2017 postseason gave us a reasonable number of games. In the second round, it tied for the fewest of the past six years. If the Cavaliers finish off the Celtics in Game 5 of their conference finals series, 2017 will tie for the least number of games in that round as well—and also claim the lowest number of total games through the conference final round. Game 7s and Game 6s are also threatening lows.
In the category of “total games,” it looks like only a seven-game NBA Finals can save these playoffs. Yep, that sounds about right.
