However, Team A was inferior to team B and wound up as a 7 to 10th place team as a result of its first-half performance, and had to play the three-game series and then face the top one or two teams in the conference with new players and unproven chemistry due to the late editions.
Team B stayed together most of the season, grew as a team, succeeded as a team, learned from their mistakes as a team, finished 2nd or 3rd in their conference, got the short-round bye, and played one of the winners of the short-round.
Furthermore, Team A players all know that they aren't going to be around as a team next year, since their payroll going into next season's going to be 45m. So, no loyalty to each other, the team, the coaching staff, or the fans...
Not a recipe for surefire success, IMHO.
EDIT: I do agee with your moral of the story, just not the reason.