The NBA Finals are set and we get the matchup that the majority of us wanted with a Cleveland-Golden State rematch from last season. Last year, Cavs fans and LeBron lovers were able to use the excuse that Cleveland was not at full strength. It’s tough to predict whether or not Cleveland would have taken down the Warriors had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love been available for them but LeBron James seems to believe so. He may be right. Cleveland did have a 2-1 series lead without those guys before Golden State used the Iguodala Effect to take the next three and the series victory. This year, LeBron and company will have the opportunity to prove it.
Regardless of who wins the series it’s expected to be one of the best in history and the most anticipated in recent memory. Just look at the average ticket price for each game as proof. Unfortunately, the road to the Finals felt like a long process and not an impressive one. Sure, there were some good series, most notably the Western Conference Finals featuring the Warriors and Thunder which is sure to go down as an instant classic. The Thunder had an incredible run throughout the playoffs with an NBA Finals worthy battle against the best regular season team in history. However, the playoffs as a whole lacked the thrill and excitement we’re used to seeing.
In fact, it’s kind of been that way for the past several seasons now. So much so that the NBA should start considering changing their NBA Playoffs format. Last month, our own Geoff Lambert published an article on how to fix the NBA Lottery. Let’s take it a step further and look at some ways the NBA could fix their playoffs. The Eastern and Western Conferences are on two different levels. Yes, the Eastern Conference playoff teams finished better this season than in years’ past and the West slightly dipped but don’t expect it to be a recurring theme. The West is still predominantly better and has been for quite some time now. Again, excluding this season, we’ve seen too many undeserving East teams reach the playoffs with sub .500 records while West teams finish 5-10 games above and miss out. Those East teams, who should be in the Lottery, typically end up getting rewarded with a first round sweep out of the playoffs for their efforts while the more deserving West teams sit at a home with a mediocre draft pick. So how about we eliminate all of that and put the top 16 teams in the playoffs?
There are a few scenarios I point out that the NBA could consider in changing their playoff platform. All of the scenarios though have one thing in common: to eliminate conferences altogether. This may sound crazy to some but the truth is the NBA is already halfway there. Divisions are now meaningless with the league’s approval to no longer require a division winner a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. Obviously, this results in no longer being guaranteed a home court advantage in a playoff series either. I for one, have never been a fan of divisions and conferences and think it’s an overrated concept.
LeBron James is about to enter his 6th consecutive NBA Finals appearance and 7th overall. That is a phenomenal accomplishment for anyone in any sport. Not to downgrade his achievements in any way but LeBron is a smart man and he has made sure to stay in the East throughout his career. He knows that the road would have been much tougher had he been in the West at any time. Just look at this season for example. The Cavaliers coasted through their first two series and Toronto was a nice story but they had no realistic shot at dethroning the king and his court. You could even look at the results of his past NBA Finals appearances. Granted he’s been there six times already but won it all just twice. If not for a complete breakdown on behalf of the Spurs in the final minute of game 6 in the 2013 Finals then it would’ve been just once.
If we took this year’s regular season results but eliminated the conferences from the equation, we get some pretty intriguing matchups in the first round. The majority of the teams that made the playoffs this year would still be there with one exception. Under the new concept, Chicago would have topped Houston leaving the Rockets out of the postseason. Seeing as how the Rockets bench reacted to their lone victory against Golden State in the first round, it didn’t appear they wanted to be there in the first place so everybody wins.
The following is the list of first round matchups we would have had this season with the new concept:
Golden State (1) vs. Chicago (16)
San Antonio (2) vs. Memphis (15)
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Cleveland (3) vs. Dallas (14)
Toronto (4) vs. Portland (13)
Oklahoma City (5) vs. Detroit (12)
L.A. Clippers (6) vs. Indiana (11)
Miami (7) vs. Charlotte (10)
Atlanta (8) vs. Boston (9)
The top three seeds would have advanced to the second round fairly easily and we’ll assume Miami and Atlanta would have advanced as they did this year since their opponents didn’t change. Toronto against Portland, however, could have been very intriguing and the Raptors would have been on upset alert. The Raptors won both their matchups in the regular season but the Blazers have shown that they are resilient and do not go quietly. They proved this year that they can still win even without LaMarcus Aldridge. OKC would have likely taken care of Detroit although it probably would’ve been a tougher matchup for them than Dallas was. The Clippers may have benefited as well with a first round matchup against the Pacers. Maybe Chris Paul and Blake Griffin stay healthy in that series and in turn, stay healthy throughout the playoffs. A healthy Clippers team changes the whole dynamic of the playoffs. With a series victory over the Pacers, the Clippers would have seen LeBron and the Cavs in the second round. The Clippers have missed every opportunity they’ve had to represent the Western Conference to this point and get a crack at LeBron for the title. In this case, we’d get to see it in just the second round. The winner there would have then had to face the winner of San Antonio and Miami. Sounds like a much tougher hill to climb than the one the Cavs went on this postseason.
By eliminating the conferences and combining teams based on their regular season records, we would get more appropriate matchups for each round. The first scenario for a change would be to have teams play every other team twice a year. The NBA schedule is long with an 82-game schedule and doesn’t have near the competition like hockey does, who also plays 82 games a season. We pretty much know beforehand who the best teams are before the season even begins. As it stands, the schedule only determines seeding for the playoffs mixed in with some surprise teams that could only hope to reach the 2nd round at best. It’s not as though we’ve looked at teams who have won the championship in shortened seasons because of lockouts as undeserving of the title. You’ll remember LeBron and the Miami Heat won the most previous championship after a lockout. Nobody put an asterisk next to it because the season was shortened.
Playing each team twice results in only a 58-game schedule, which is even shorter than previous lockout seasons. It sounds like a big drop off of course but, again, how many games do you really need to determine who is the best? I think a 58-game schedule would actually help get the best out of players and can still be stretched out over the same course as an 82-game schedule. More and more we see teams resting their players during the regular season. With just 58 games, back-to-back games would be less likely and each game would have a bigger impact overall. I know the NBA doesn’t like the sound of losing 24 games worth of income for each team and would look to the players to take less money annually. Of course, that wouldn’t fly either seeing as how the players already believe they’re worth more than the millions they’re getting now. But what about the fans? It’s not like fans get discounted tickets anytime these superstars take a ‘rest’ day or a star gets injured.
Injuries happen and they’re unfortunate but they would occur less with a decreased schedule that’s spread out accordingly. We forget sometimes that these guys are human and a long schedule like that puts a lot of wear and tear on the body, particularly for the 30 and over crowd. Now players could manage to keep themselves fresh and possibly extend their careers in the process. I, personally, would prefer to see a competitive 58-game schedule over a dragged out, uninteresting 82-game one every year. At the end of it all, the top 16 teams would qualify for the playoffs.
Seeing as how shortening the season that much is not likely to happen, another alternative is to keep the 82-game schedule as it is. The only significant difference is that without conferences, each team can play 24 of the teams three times a year and the remaining five teams just twice. This would rotate yearly of course and keep the level of competition as fair as possible. There seems no reason why some teams play each other four times a year, especially with teams like the 76ers and Nets as easy pickings.
Another scenario could be to shorten the amount of playoff teams. With 30 teams in the league, the NBA allows over half its’ teams to reach the playoffs. Only the NHL allows as many. They could cut the amount of teams in half to just 8, making it much more difficult to even make it to the postseason. Another possibility could see 10 teams make it with the bottom four participating in smaller series to determine who advances. I don’t see cutting the amount of playoff teams as a favorable option from either a business perspective or a fan’s point-of-view. The NBA would lose a ton in revenue and fans don’t really want less playoff games, even if they believe it takes too long.
The idea to eliminate conferences to improve the NBA Playoffs gives more opportunities for some teams that struggle each year to even make the playoffs. Teams like Minnesota and Utah struggle competing against the other powerhouse West teams but could improve their chances with an even field. The league itself would become more competitive as a whole, instead of just the few teams we’re used to seeing at the top. So really it comes down to the NBA making some changes to their regular season in order to make the playoffs even bigger. The NBA made a change last year no longer guaranteeing division winners a secured spot. Maybe now it’s time for another change.
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