As the old saying goes, you have to be good to be lucky. In the sporting world, that means individuals do the best that they can to make their own luck. Training harder, honing their skills and breaking down obstacles in their path. The same can be applied to teams and managers.
I like using stats. A lot. But I do understand that luck plays an important role in this game. If anything, the playoffs are the perfect presentation of that fact. No matter how good your team is in the regular season, they can be victimized by poor luck.