Fixing The Playoff Format

[Indy]

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

Team's tank HARD in the last 2-3 games of the season in the NFL. Its just not as noticable because there are less games when the tanking is going on.

[Sauru]

still i dont see anything really wrong with it, its part of the game, wont fix it, what can you do, do what van gundy suggested and let every team in on the lotto? go back to the days where you dont draft but sign players from college?

[Indy]

still i dont see anything really wrong with it, its part of the game, wont fix it, what can you do, do what van gundy suggested and let every team in on the lotto? go back to the days where you dont draft but sign players from college?

This is one time where you aren't going to find much opinion from me. I don't really know if there is a better system then what we have. I don't like tanking very much, but that will happen as long as more losses = more ping pong balls.

I just think there isn't a system that will satisfy everyone.

[Sauru]

i agree there, and the problem is the worst team never seems to get the first pick. as for fixing the lotto i too have no solution really other than just leaving it, getting rid of it all together, or going back to the old way where every team in the lotto gets selected

[Andrew]

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.

My sentiments exactly.

It seemed like almost everyone was up in arms over the Playoff format last year when the Mavericks and Spurs met in the second round and the NBA resolved do something about it, changing a system that had worked for decades. Then this year's Playoffs roll around and the big matchup that the changes were meant to preserve never came to be because the Mavs were upset in the first round.

Seems the only reason for the change is because the expected matchups didn't come to be. Obviously that doesn't always leave us with the most appealing Playoff series but why should annual changes be made to the Playoff format just because they don't always turn out as predicted? If the NBA is going to manipulate the Playoffs so certain teams are more likely to advance (and thus result in ratings grabbing matchups), they might as well rig the whole thing.

[joejam999]

They need 1-8 east and west. Sorry all 16 teams would be gay.

[SVSM/CC-23]

I`m not sure about that. Maybe all good free agents would turn to the west.
e.g. i think joe johnson would never have signed in atlanta when the eastern conference did not have their 8 guaranteed seeds, no matter how much money they would offer to him.

as its already been mentioned above the 1st and 2nd round maybe stay more interesting, at least in the west.

btw: if there was this new seedregulation, the same 16 teams would have played in the playoffs as they which did.

[Chaoot]

Well, I am newly registered though i have been reading on this forum for about two years...

Anyway, in reply, I guess changing the format the way it was proposed, should also involve changing the regular season; seen as eastern teams play eastern teams more often than western, exactly because there is a focus on your own conference...

[Andrew]

In my opinion, Dan Wetzel has a good take on the proposed changes to the Playoff format in this column. There's no need to blow everything up or make drastic changes just because one year doesn't pan out as most people predicted. The 1999 NBA Finals weren't evenly matched, nor were the Finals in 2002. Sometimes, it just goes down that way.

[Ashman23]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. When was the last time the team that won it all wasn't the best team. Sure there have been 'mismatches' but the result is still the same. One minute it's the West that dominates and then the East, usually because the ultimate best team comes from that conference so other teams around them get better and more competitive, so that would all change if seeding was done differently.

[maes]

I think people are focusing too much on this year to rewrite long standing NBA rules.

Where were all these complaints about the lottery system when the Bucks and Trailblazers beat the odds to grab #1 & #3 in 05? Bucks nabbed Andrew Bogut, who really isn't any better than the guys they could have grabbed with their #6 position (Frye, Charlie V, Bynum). Portland got #3 and traded away Deron Williams or Chris Paul for the chance to draft Martell Webster.

The reason why the balance of power isn't shifting is because the owners & management of these teams don't change w/ the ping pong balls. Bad management will make boneheaded drafts with a high, medium, or low pick. Atlanta will keep on drafting guys like Marvin Williams (#2), Shelden (#5), and Josh Childress (#6).

For a real lottery, give the worst team in the league Jerry Coangelo or John Paxson for the draft.