If we actually think about winning and losing simplifying the results is easy. 16 teams make the playoffs so if you go out in the 1st round you are a 16th place finisher. I am going to use 2020 as a base model. Here is the bracket results for the year



1st round Start: 16 teams
End: 8 teams
8 teams lose in the 1st round , they all finish 16th of 16 teams

WC
16th: Blazers
16th: Mavs
16th:Thunder
16th: Jazz

EC
16th: Magic
16th: Sixers
16th: Nets
16th: Pacers


Semi Finals Start: 8 teams
End: 4 teams

4 teams lose in the Semi Finals
They all finish 8th of 8 teams

WC
8th: Rockets
8th: Clippers

EC
8th: Bucks
8th Raptors

Conference Finals Start: 4 teams
End: 2 teams

2 teams lose in the Conference Finals
They all finish 4th of 4 teams

WC
4th: Nuggets

EC
4th: Celtics

Finals Start: 2 teams
End: 1 team

Finals winner is 1st place
1st: Lakers
2nd: Heat

Final Playoff Standings:
1st: Lakers
2nd: Heat
4th: Nuggets, Celtics
8th: Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Raptors
16th: Trailblazers, Jazz, Mavericks, Thunder, Magic, Sixers, Nets, Pacers

This is the best way I can make sense of people saying a 1st round (16th place) is the same as a Finals loss (2nd place).