Author: Inside Hoops

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NBA playoff seedings rule change

The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved changes to playoff seeding and qualification procedures effective with the 2015-16 season, the league announced today.

As part of the modifications, the eight playoff teams in each conference will be seeded in order of their regular-season record. Most recently, every division winner was guaranteed a top four seed in its respective conference regardless of its record but did not receive home-court advantage if its playoff opponent had a better record.

InsideHoops.com spoke with a league official just to clarify that this rule change applies to both (1) Seeding and (2) Qualifying for a playoff spot (before seeding even takes place.) And what we were told is that yes, this rule change applies to both. So, the teams in a conference with the eight best records are the teams that will make the playoffs, and they will be seeded in that order.

An NBA division-winner will now miss the playoffs if that team does not have a top eight record in the conference.

Therefore, winning a division means nothing in regard to making the playoffs except in tiebreaker situations as described below:

The Board also approved changes to tiebreak criteria for playoff seeding and home-court advantage. Head-to-head results have become the first criterion to break ties for playoff seeding and home-court advantage between two teams with identical regular-season records; the second criterion is whether a team won its division. Under the old tiebreak system, a division winner was awarded the higher seed and received home-court advantage in a series if the two teams met in the playoffs.

The NBA’s Competition Committee unanimously recommended each of these changes prior to the Board of Governors vote.

No FIBA Asia play for Jordan Clarkson

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog reporting on Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, who will be more rested coming into the upcoming NBA season, as explained below:

No FIBA Asia play for Jordan Clarkson

Jordan Clarkson had wanted to play for the Philippine national team. The team wanted Clarkson to play, too.

But amid concerns that his participation would conflict with his responsibilities to the Lakers, Clarkson will not play during for the Gilas Pilipinas during this month’s FIBA Asia championships, the Philippine Basketball Assn. announced on Tuesday on their website.

The statement added that Philippine national team executives Ricky Vergas and Patrick Gregorio met recently with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and president Jeanie Buss about Clarkson’s participation.

Nets are adding Dahntay Jones

With NBA training camps opening in a few weeks, we’ve reached the part of the offseason where the vast majority of players who are going to receive guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season have already been signed. At this point, most signings will be non-guaranteed deals merely bringing players into training camp. Here’s the New York Daily News with the Brooklyn Nets latest:

Nets are adding Dahntay Jones

The Nets added some veteran savvy and feistiness to their training camp roster by coming to terms with free agent guard and Jersey-product Dahntay Jones, the Daily News confirmed.

The 34-year-old Jones agreed to a non-guaranteed deal and will try to make the team out of training camp at Duke University, a school he attended for two years after transferring from Rutgers.

Alternate black Suns uniform coming Tuesday

Here’s the Arizona Republic reporting some Phoenix Suns uniform news. It’s always cool when teams roll out alternate jerseys, because in some cases the take some chances that pay off big. And then suddenly there’s something awesome worth buying. As for the report:

The Suns will be back in black next season.

On Tuesday, the Suns will reveal an alternate black uniform for the coming season, along with the “#WeArePHX” marketing campaign that already has been used in some recent franchise initiatives.

The Suns have not worn a black uniform since they donned an alternate throwback black uniform during the 2012-13 season. That uniform was designed after the 1994-95 black jerseys but this uniform will have a new style.

Pistons conclude week of MMA training

Some Detroit Pistons players recently learned MMA techniques that they probably won’t be applying in actual basketball games. But some extra toughness and additional training information can’t hurt. Here’s Detroit Live reporting:

Pistons conclude week of MMA training

The Pistons just wrapped a week of team bonding that saw most of Van Gundy’s youthful roster travel to the UFC training compound in Las Vegas, where they learned MMA techniques from Griffin, heavyweight Stefan Struve and strawweight women’s champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

“I love to do it, I’m excited to do it. I do get a little nervous,” Griffin told MMAJunkie.com. “That’s a very expensive knee going on there. The No. 1 job – my job – is to make sure these guys don’t get hurt.

“Do not get people hurt. Do not get million-dollar athletes hurt.”

From all accounts, the Pistons, who kick off training camp later this month, came away unscathed.

Report: Sixers may add Kendall Marshall

The Philadelphia 76ers are still undergoing a massive rebuild. There’s no telling how many seasons it’ll take. As for who they may be added to their roster, here’s the Philadelphia Daily News reporting:

Report: Sixers may add Kendall Marshall

The 76ers are close to signing free-agent guard Kendall Marshall to a multiyear contract, Yahoo Sports reported.

The deal would fully guarantee his salary for the 2015-16 season, sources told the website.

Marshall has been rehabilitating a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Chapel Hill, N.C., the past few months and worked out in Philadelphia this week.

Marshall is expected to be able to play sometime during the first half of the season, NBA sources said.