Sunday, June 12, 2016

NBA Playoff Seeding - Reformat!!!





One thing is clear several games into the 2016 NBA Finals. The playoff seeding needs to be changed. Right now it's the top 8 teams from each conference. There are cases seemingly every year when a really good team gets left out of the playoffs because of this. The 2007 Warriors finished the season with the 12th best record in the League but because they were 9th in the NBA standings, they missed out on the playoffs. They had a better record than 5 teams that made the playoffs. Same situation with the 2013 Phoenix Suns. This isn't the problem though. Honestly, the Suns and Warriors most likely would have been gone in the first round so it's not like it mattered. The issue with the current seeding is that means we are supposed to believe the Cleveland Cavaliers are the second best team in the League lol. The Thunder and Spurs would have been better Finals opponents for the Warriors. Hell, I'll take the Blazers over the Cavs too, shout out Rasheed Wallace.

It's ridiculous to argue that the top 16 teams should not be in the playoffs. The resisting, I'm assuming, has to be related to travel and the regular season schedule. First off, the travel. I understand if the Clippers get matched up with Toronto over a 7 game series, those are some long flights for everyone involved. Some long flights on a first class private plane with 2-3 days of rest in between games. This travel issue effects the players solely. Let the players decide if they would want the top 16 teams in the playoffs at the sacrifice of more convenient travel. I think we all know what the choice would be.

Alright, down to the nitty gritty. The real problem is the regular scheduling. Give the 2015-16 Cavs a Western Conference regular season schedule and it's safe to assume they don't have the same record. Same with the giving the Warriors an Eastern Conference schedule. Who knows if the Warriors still break the record if they play the Bucks and Celtics 4 times a year versus 2. So how can this be resolved?

Let's set parameters for an 82 game schedule (quick fix edition):
30 teams
6 divisions

Play each team in your division 4 times a year = 66 games left
Play other 25 teams at least twice = 16 games left
Play 3 teams from other divisions one additional time (rotate teams every year) = 1 game left
I don't care what they do with the one extra game

Adam Silver...holla at me. Peace

Cool Kids - Free Throws