Playoff bonuses already flowing

PHILADELPHIA So what did moving up to the No. 6 Eastern Conference playoff seed on the final night of the regular season net the Miami Heat beyond a first-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers? A cool $135,263.

That is the bonus for the team that finishes with the sixth-best record in each conference, with the league’s record $20 million playoff pool awarding bonuses to the top six finishers in each conference. The Heat earned No. 6 in a tiebreaker over the Milwaukee Bucks.

There is, however, no bonus for winning a division, which the Heat did by closing a game ahead of the Washington Wizards for the Southeast title.

Of course, to put that $135,263 into perspective, consider that Heat center Hassan Whiteside, with his $23.8 million salary, earned $290,000 per game this season.

Further, that $135,263 is per team, to be divided among the 15 players on the roster and possibly more, with two-way players Derrick Jones Jr. and Derrick Walton Jr. also eligible to be voted playoff shares, despite not being eligible for the playoff roster.

The Heat also are assured of a $298,485 payment for participating in the first round.

The Heat’s possible playoff pool shares going forward:

Advancing semifinals $355,159.

Advancing to conference finals (per team): $586,898.

Advancing to NBA Finals (per team): $2,346,947.

Winning NBA Finals: $3,541,896.

Teams traditionally vote playoff shares to support staff as well, furthering dividing the payouts, with franchises supplementing bonuses to team staffers.

Last season’s playoff pool was $15 million.

The Houston Rockets have secured the largest share of the playoff pool to this stage, with $576,843 for the league’s best-overall record, as well as $504,737 as a conference champion. to conference (per team):

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