Matchup Preferences?

[Hogmelon]

Identically, yes, fully identical. But its individual. For many fans, it is not identical. And that is also fine, as fans love more games and action. I do not care much if we win against Clippers, if we lose against Nuggets later. Either way it means we lost, we need to go home, it means we dont get the title and the rings,and need to start over. You get absolutely nothing from losing in game 7. You lost. Another team won the title. 

For players, and especially the ones that want to win, and these are typically the competitive players, that actually do end up as winners, the most competitive ones - it should be fully identical as well. Either you lose, or you win. There is nothing in between. If you have this particular mindset that something in between is actually good (as you mention in that game 7 lose scenario) - then there is a very high chance you will be satisfied by that loss, and this will also result in a loss.

I am looking of this from the perspective of Mavs players. This is what matters more than the perspective from us the fans, although our perspective is also important. For the players, it should not matter at all who is the next opponent. They need to be able to win against every other opponent, so the actual schedule is completely irrelevant. 

I am pretty sure Michael Jordan would have this mindset going into playoffs, or any game for that matter.

The best team always win in the end. If you lose a series, it means you dont deserve to be a champion. So the schedule is irrelevant. The team that didnt lose a series in the playoffs, is the best one. All the other ones lost.

So would your satisfaction/happiness level also be identical in each of the following hypothetical situations?

1.  Mavs have the worst record in the NBA, losing every game they play by at least 40 points.

2.  Mavs win in the first round of the playoffs, then win in the second round, then win the Western Conference Championship, and then lose a closely contested 7-game series in the NBA Finals.



Seriously, is winning the Western Conference Championship a totally meaningless goal?  I am pretty sure that neither Michael Jordan nor any other reasonable person would have this mindset.