Each week during the 2021-22 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether the trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.
[ Last time on Fact or Fiction: Superstar injuries leave championship odds out of whack ]
The NBA took several recent steps to limit late-season tanking, implementing the play-in tournament and flattening lottery odds, and only five teams have been eliminated from playoff contention in late March.