meh, every team has a shot in baseball's postseason. Same for the playoffs in the NFL. #6 teams win all the time, Wild Card teams in baseball too. In the NBA you're right though, it's a rather pointless playoff and really only is necessary to stop three quarters of the league from tanking every year. No #5, #7, or #8 has ever won an NBA title, and a #6 has only done it once.