The month of April rings in a glorious time of the year, rivaled only by the festivities of the winter solstice — it’s the start of the NBA Playoffs. The final culmination of a five-month long drama serial, the playoffs are inherently different from its preceding counterpart. Defensive intensity increases, play slows down, close outs come faster, and transition opportunities dwindle. The nature of a seven-game series means teams actively game plan against each other, unhinged from the constant rigors of the regular season.
It is this nature — this grueling, gritty nature — that has many claiming that pace and space, named after the style’s emphasis on quick play and shooters spreading the floor, can’t succeed in the playoffs.