Fixing The Playoff Format

I saw this on ESPN, but i dont have insider so i couldnt read it. But i think the NBA shouldn't limit teams to play in divisions, or conferences. Then you end up with a finals like the Spurs vs Cavs. I think they should allow the top 16 teams with the best record, no matter if they are east or west into the playoffs, and seed them 1-16 based on their records. Then you could have maybe 10 west teams and 6 east teams. I dont think it would be fair for a 9th place west team to be out of the playoffs, yet a 7th or 8th seed eastern team has a worse record and they make the playoffs. The playoffs should be about the best teams, not the best teams in their conference. Plus i think it would bring better matchups and alot more excitement.

I thought about this too and i agree. under .500 win percentage teams should not be in the playoffs.

lmao u guys surely don't want no east teams in playoffs huh

oden/durant to west... no power shifting till george bush retires from whitehouse and becumz eastern nba playa

I'm from the east, and I don't watch the eastern conference playoff games because they thoroughly suck.

I don't care what conference the teams are from or what divison. All I care about seeing is the best of the best, and if that means they're all from west of the Mississippi, then so be it.

lmao u guys surely don't want no east teams in playoffs huh

Its not that i dont like east teams, im a bucks fan, i just want the best teams in the playoffs. If the bunch everyone together on one side of the playoff bracket it wont always end up east vs west, and it should put the two best teams against each other no matter what conference they are from.

ok i am stubburn but i can handle some change. i cant handle seeding the 16 playoff teams 1 thru 16 to try and make for not only a better finals but each round, including the first imo) will be beter. also this could make the regular season even more important. what i cant handle is picking the top 16 teams total. i rather stick with 8 and 8 then seed them that way. to be honest i kinda like the playoffs as it is now but if the change was made that i said above then i would be ok with that too

This is a good read.

I really don't think divisions mean anything, it's just a way to categorize. It should be the top 8 teams in the east vs the top 8 teams in the west, and seeded that way.

To seed 30 teams for 1-16 based on their records, sounds pretty fair and it might makes the regular season more important for some player like Shaq.

But I think in long term, it will make good players likely to demand for traded to those top seeds teams, and those teams will have more resources to acquire better staffs, eventually it might makes the best getting better, and the weak even weaker, and in the end there will be only a few teams remain competitive, others will be painful to watch.

However, it’s just my opinion, maybe it will work fine.

Off the topic:
By the way, I would like to disregard divisions in the All-star game, choose all the players by the votes and divide them to two teams by position, it will makes the lineup different every year and create more exciting combination.

I really don't think divisions mean anything, it's just a way to categorize. It should be the top 8 teams in the east vs the top 8 teams in the west, and seeded that way.

but the way you are talking about could still leave teams with better records out of the playoffs while teams with lower records get in because of one conference being too strong, and the other being too weak. The main idea, for me at least, is to get the top 16 teams in the playoffs, not the best 8 from each conference.

I think the espn article was about East 1 (Detroit) vs West 8 (Golden State), East 4 (Miami) vs West 5 (Houston) and so on....would be an interesting twist....although would take away a lot of the old prestige in Conference battles....

The NBA needs a better format for more excitement like the NCAA never mind just getting the best 16 teams. Would be better for upsets etc.

What's wrong with the current system? The best team from each conference (at least come playoff time) is making the finals in each given year. I suppose it would be interesting to change things up, but why fix what ain't broke? All the other major professional sports use the same system as well.

I guess everybody's upset about this year's Finals so they're wondering what could be done to make sure we get more "exciting" teams in the Finals from now on...
Personally, I don't think the league should change anything about the current system. Even if there's obviously an imbalance between East and West, I don't think that a concept that's been around for a long time should be altered to favor either conference, let the regular season speak for itself.

but the way you are talking about could still leave teams with better records out of the playoffs while teams with lower records get in because of one conference being too strong, and the other being too weak. The main idea, for me at least, is to get the top 16 teams in the playoffs, not the best 8 from each conference.

That's gonna cause too many problems. 3 teams from the east and 13 teams from the west, for instance, is just gonna create an even bigger unbalance.

but the way you are talking about could still leave teams with better records out of the playoffs while teams with lower records get in because of one conference being too strong, and the other being too weak. The main idea, for me at least, is to get the top 16 teams in the playoffs, not the best 8 from each conference.

That's gonna cause too many problems. 3 teams from the east and 13 teams from the west, for instance, is just gonna create an even bigger unbalance.

So having a 8 vs 8 balance is better then having the best 16 teams in the playoffs? Leaving out better teams in the playoffs is an injustice, while letting in other teams that shouldnt be there, but get in because of their weak conference. Sounds a bit handicaped to me.

If you take the top 16 teams in the league instead of 8 best in each conference you...
- asure you have the 16 best teams in the league in the playoffs
- create matchups that you would never see if it stayed the same.
- get a finals game with the 2 best teams most likely, not just the best team from each conference.

The only downside to this is that you wont always get rivalrys like the pistons and cavs. I would much rather have a playoff with the best 16 teams in a bracket that is like this one.... Link

Yo, just look at a team like golden state. Someone or more than one person was hurt for most of their season, but they were healthy for the last week of the season and got the #8 seed and were the hottest team in basketball going into the playoffs, and they beat #1 seed dallas.

GS was below .500 if it was the best 16 they wouldn't of been in the playoffs. GS is a good team with talent (not defensive-wise), they wouldn't of made it because of injury in that format, but when they were healthy they were dynamite. (and GS-Dallas might of been the best series this year, besides of course cavs-pistons )

They don't need to change it!

the system really is fine as it is right now. it has worked for along time so far. if the nba really wants to fix the league then they need to start making the worst team have the first pick. no more stupid lotto crap.

A bitter Celtics fan scorned by the lottery...

A bitter Celtics fan scorned by the lottery...

I have to agree with Sauru. Boston and memphis got screwed over.

GS was below .500 if it was the best 16 they wouldn't of been in the playoffs. GS is a good team with talent (not defensive-wise), they wouldn't of made it because of injury in that format, but when they were healthy they were dynamite. (and GS-Dallas might of been the best series this year, besides of course cavs-pistons )

They don't need to change it!

What do you mean GS wouldnt have made it in the new format? They surely would have, the only difference this year is that LA Clippers could have gotten in instead of Orlando. It has nothing to do with being over .500, just picking the 16 best teams.

2nd round of the playoffs would have seen matches possibly, like

Dallas vs Chicago
Houston vs Detroit
Pheonix vs Cleveland
Miami vs San Antonio

and a finals of possibly
Phoenix or San Antonio vs Detroit or Dallas

Of course we could have had detroit vs san antonio the old way too this year, but that didnt happen. But this format would give the finals better matchup possibilities.

Last edited by -Young Buck- on Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:18 am, edited 2 times in total.

the system really is fine as it is right now. it has worked for along time so far. if the nba really wants to fix the league then they need to start making the worst team have the first pick. no more stupid lotto crap.

That's silly, everyone is trying to figure out how to stop tanking, and that would encourage it.

As for the playoff problem, there is only one solution. Eastern teams have to get better. There has been shifts in power between the conferences forever, and there is nothing wrong with that.

I have to agree with Sauru. Boston and memphis got screwed over.

Memphis was a 49 win team last year, 4th in the WC right behind the Phoenix Suns.

They tanked so blatantly and obviously they got what they deserved.

I've always said previous records should count towards the lottery weighting...Boston has suffered for a while but there are many teams that have had worse histories that Boston.

All I needed to see from Hollinger's Insider article were the 3 words "West versus West" when referring to a possible NBA finals matchup. Although a "West Vs West" finals matchup would be more appealing than watching the West teams blow out the East , it just doesn't seem right and would be deviating from tradition. The current system of West - East in the finals is just fine.

the system really is fine as it is right now. it has worked for along time so far. if the nba really wants to fix the league then they need to start making the worst team have the first pick. no more stupid lotto crap.

That's silly, everyone is trying to figure out how to stop tanking, and that would encourage it.

As for the playoff problem, there is only one solution. Eastern teams have to get better. There has been shifts in power between the conferences forever, and there is nothing wrong with that.

it seems to work well in the nfl. the lotto is such crap anyway. worst should get first, if you wanna tank then tank, nothing preventing every team in the nba from trying to take other than fans deserting them, the cash flowing slowing down alot, players not signing cause the team has a rep for wanting to lose. as it is now the 3 teams in the nba with the worst record got screwed