Not just the playoffs but the regular season too. The team that win is generally the team that is healthiest, and the team that is healthiest is generally the team that has lots of time to rest players because the end of the regular season didn't matter.The path the Celtics took in '22 was brutal and by the time they got to the Finals they were exhausted and beat up. I'm not sure "being tested" is a recipe for success.
Think DEN or NYK or PHI wouldn't have wanted three weeks at the end of the season when they could have gotten rested and healthy?