How the 2021 NBA Playoff Standings Determined Championship Contenders
Looking back at the 2021 NBA playoffs, I can't help but reflect on how the standings didn't just reveal who would lift the Larry O'Brien trophy—they exposed which organizations truly understood how to build sustainable championship contenders. As someone who's studied basketball roster construction for over a decade, I've come to appreciate that playoff success isn't just about having stars; it's about managing them through the grueling marathon of an NBA season and postseason. The Phoenix Suns' journey to the Finals perfectly illustrated this principle, though their ultimate failure against Milwaukee revealed the fine line between contender and champion.
What struck me most about that postseason was how teams like the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers—both top seeds—crumbled when it mattered most. The Jazz had the league's best record at 52-20, yet Donovan Mitchell playing through injury clearly hampered their ceiling. I remember thinking during their second-round collapse against the Clippers that this was a classic case of poor timing—having your best player at less than 100% when it matters most. The Sixers' situation with Joel Embiid playing through a meniscus tear similarly highlighted how championship windows can slam shut when health management fails. This brings me to Cone's approach with Brownlee for Gilas Pilipinas—the recognition that player preservation extends beyond immediate games to the broader career trajectory. In today's NBA, we're seeing more organizations adopt this long-view mentality, though the 2021 playoffs showed many still hadn't learned this lesson.
The Milwaukee Bucks' championship run demonstrated the perfect storm of strategic rest and playoff readiness. Giannis Antetokounmpo's knee injury in the Eastern Conference Finals had many writing them off, yet the medical staff's careful management got him back for the Finals where he delivered one of the most dominant closeout performances in recent memory—50 points in Game 6. What's often overlooked is how the Bucks managed Middleton and Holiday throughout the regular season, giving them strategic rest days that preserved their legs for when it mattered. The data shows Milwaukee's core three players missed a combined 38 regular-season games—what might have seemed like concerning absences at the time proved to be calculated preservation.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets' collapse perfectly illustrated the dangers of prioritizing star power over sustainable load management. Their big three of Durant, Harden, and Irving played just 202 regular-season minutes together before the playoffs. When Harden's hamstring gave out in the second round and Irving went down with an ankle injury, the Nets became essentially a one-man show—and even Kevin Durant's historic performances couldn't overcome the lack of continuity and depth. I've always believed championship teams need both quality and quantity of time together—something the 2021 standings somewhat obscured since Brooklyn's 48-24 record didn't reflect their fragmentation.
The Western Conference told a similar story of teams learning—or failing to learn—these lessons. The Lakers entered as defending champions but never found rhythm with LeBron James and Anthony Davis missing significant time due to injuries. Their first-round exit to Phoenix wasn't just about Chris Paul's brilliance—it was about a team that never managed to build chemistry because their stars were never healthy simultaneously for extended periods. Meanwhile, the Suns benefited from Chris Paul's relatively healthy season and Devin Booker's consistency, though their failure in the Finals revealed they might have benefited from more strategic rest for their veterans down the stretch.
What fascinates me about analyzing these playoff standings is how they serve as Rorschach tests for team-building philosophies. The teams that went deepest—Milwaukee, Phoenix, Atlanta, and the Clippers—all employed varying degrees of strategic rest and load management. The Hawks particularly surprised me, transforming from a 41-41 team the previous season to Eastern Conference finalists largely because Trae Young stayed healthy throughout their run and their role players were fresh when needed most. Meanwhile, traditional powerhouses like the Lakers and Celtics faltered precisely because they couldn't keep their core pieces intact.
The connection to Cone's approach with Brownlee becomes clearer when we consider how modern basketball requires thinking beyond immediate contests. Championship windows in today's NBA are increasingly narrow—the 2021 playoffs demonstrated that organizations must balance present competitiveness with future viability. Milwaukee's decision to rest Giannis for 6 games in March despite tight seeding races seemed questionable at the time but proved prescient when he had the legs to dominate in June. Similarly, Phoenix's management of Chris Paul's minutes during his age-35 season allowed him to play all 20 playoff games at an elite level.
As I reflect on that postseason two years later, the lessons continue to resonate across basketball globally. The teams that understand player management as a year-round commitment—not just a playoff-time consideration—are the ones that consistently compete for championships. The 2021 standings revealed which franchises had internalized this reality, with Milwaukee's championship serving as validation for their patient, health-first approach. Meanwhile, teams that rushed stars back or failed to build adequate depth saw their aspirations crumble, regardless of their regular-season success. In many ways, that playoff bracket wasn't just determining a champion—it was providing a blueprint for sustainable excellence in the modern NBA.