Adam Silver says the NBA Has 'to make a change' to its Playoff Format

[Meticode]

I agree...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/adam-silver-says-the-nba--need-s--to-make-a-change--in-its-playoff-format-232835099.html

[JohnFreeman]

Never trust a man with no hair

[LiLharvard]

Never trust a man with no hair

He probably has hair on his balls

[Adam Silver]

He probably has hair on his balls

I shave.

[UK2K]

Its still crazy that Houston has to play Dallas, Memphis, San Antonio, and New Orleans 4 times each, while the Raptors play four games against the Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, and Nets.

Rox, Dallas, Memphis, San Antonio probably go 16-0 in that division.

[ArbitraryWater]

Oh my god thats awesome.. top 16 pls pls pls pls

and no conference bs, 58 games (each team plays each other 2x, home/away). keep the best of 7, 2-2-1-1-1 for every round.

[bluechox2]

they should realign the divisions every 5 years

[longtime lurker]

*Lebron voice* It's about damn time! *Lebron voice*

[Milbuck]

Bucks would still be a playoff team :dancin

[Shep]

Oh my god thats awesome.. top 16 pls pls pls pls

and no conference bs, 58 games
ya this. First round = best of 5 also.

[Ariza4three]

**** that. Keep it.

[Rose'sACL]

**** that. Keep it.
why? current format is bad.

[Joyner82reload]

Personally I would prefer every team plays each team 2 times, 1 away and 1 home, during the regular season. 58 game regular season. That would obviously be the most FAIR regular season, but it would never happen as it would greatly reduce team revenue

Playoffs are ranked 1-16 at the end

Also the 1st round should be 3 games, 2nd should be 5 games, 3rd should be 7, and Finals should be 7 as well. More parity is better for the NBA, period.

[Droid101]

Top 16... god please.

[T_L_P]

Personally I would prefer every team plays each team 2 times, 1 away and 1 home, during the regular season. 58 game regular season. That would obviously be the most FAIR regular season, but it would never happen as it would greatly reduce team revenue

Playoffs are ranked 1-16 at the end

Also the 1st round should be 3 games, 2nd should be 5 games, 3rd should be 7, and Finals should be 7 as well. More parity is better for the NBA, period.

3 game series. :roll:

:biggums:

[DeuceWallaces]

They'll never do top 16. They can't risk too many major markets missing the playoffs at once.

[JellyBean]

I hope that they don't mess with the playoff format. There is talk of having a cross-conference 1st and 2nd round battle and doing away with the conference Finals. Can you imagine what happens if there is a Finals and both teams come from the East or the West? There could be a Finals where you have the Bulls vs the Cavs for the title. Or the Spurs vs the Trail Blazers. Come on, now. No keep the playoff format the way it is.

[Droid101]

They'll never do top 16. They can't risk too many major markets missing the playoffs at once.
Yeah, it'd be crazy if the Lakers and the Knicks both missed the... oh wait.

[bluechox2]

Personally I would prefer every team plays each team 2 times, 1 away and 1 home, during the regular season. 58 game regular season. That would obviously be the most FAIR regular season, but it would never happen as it would greatly reduce team revenue

Playoffs are ranked 1-16 at the end

Also the 1st round should be 3 games, 2nd should be 5 games, 3rd should be 7, and Finals should be 7 as well. More parity is better for the NBA, period.

finals should go the superbowl route and have one epic showdown for the 2 final teams with all those commercial spots up for grabs and a huge halftime show

[longtime lurker]

I hope that they don't mess with the playoff format. There is talk of having a cross-conference 1st and 2nd round battle and doing away with the conference Finals. Can you imagine what happens if there is a Finals and both teams come from the East or the West? There could be a Finals where you have the Bulls vs the Cavs for the title. Or the Spurs vs the Trail Blazers. Come on, now. No keep the playoff format the way it is.

Yes please let's have two inferior teams match up in the finals because reasons....

The best teams will make it to the top. This actually creates better match ups in the earlier rounds and if the NBA goes the reseeding route like the NHL the best teams will meet in the finals.

[Mrofir]

I've said this many times -- 6+2 is the best of all worlds.

1) No change to conference or division alignment
2) Top 6 teams in each conference auto qualify for playoffs
3) The best remaining 4 teams, by record, qualify for the playoffs, regardless of conference.
4) The wild 4 teams are randomly assigned to a conference for the playoffs, after which their seeding is determined by their record. They are not locked into the 7-8 seed, this is to protect the 1-2 seeds.

Last year it would have fixed the chaos in the western conference:

West:

1) Spurs
2) Thunder
3) Clippers
4) Blazers
5) Rockets
6) Warriors

7 + 8 ) randomly selected from best remaining 4 teams -- Memphis, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte

End result -- Hawks don't make the playoffs with a 38-44 record. Suns do make the playoffs with a 48-34 record. Conference rivalries remain in tact. Most likely we still see Heat and Spurs in the finals.

End of season games involving the Timberwolves would have significant playoff implications. More teams in the playoff hunt at the end = more interesting regular season.

New matchups become possible: Suns, if randomly assigned to the East, would have been the 4 seed, playing Brooklyn in the first round. If Dallas was assigned to the East, they'd be the 3 seed and play the Wizards in the first round.

[FLDFSU]

I shave.

:roll: :roll:

[RoseCity07]

If it's top 16 Portland could sit their starters half the year and still make it.

[Magic 32]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2706373/lebronrun_medium.gif

[Joyner82reload]

FWIW here would be the top 16 as it currently stands

1. Golden State
16. OKC

8. Dallas
9. San Antonio

4. Houston
13. Phoenix

5. Portland
12. Chicago


3. Memphis
14. Milwaukee

6. Toronto
11. Washington

7. LA Clippers
10. Cleveland

15. New Orleans
2. Atlanta

The only thing I worry about is tanking to avoid a certain side of the bracket. I.E. Golden State(OKC, SA, Houston/Portland) would have to go through a MUCH tougher path to the championship than say Memphis(Milwaukee, Toronto/Washington, Atlanta/Cleveland)

[CelticBaller]

Just remove the West Vs East conference format and revamp it

[Mr. Jabbar]

getting rid of the "lebron exploit" huh? bout damn time.

[jbryan1984]

The only problem I have with this is the same problem anytime you make a huge change like this, it is not fair to players from the past. I acknowledge there is a problem and there has been for a long time. Its like when they made the 3 second rule. To me, its why there are a lack of great centers out there today. How would that of went twenty to thirty years ago when the league had a number of great centers? I hear Silver is also wanting to change the lottery and do worst team first. That also wouldn't be fair to teams in the past who had the worst record but not the #1 pick. Maybe I just hate change, I don't know, just my opinion.

[gts]

The only problem I have with this is the same problem anytime you make a huge change like this, it is not fair to players from the past. I acknowledge there is a problem and there has been for a long time. Its like when they made the 3 second rule. To me, its why there are a lack of great centers out there today. How would that of went twenty to thirty years ago when the league had a number of great centers? I hear Silver is also wanting to change the lottery and do worst team first. That also wouldn't be fair to teams in the past who had the worst record but not the #1 pick. Maybe I just hate change, I don't know, just my opinion.

I don't think you can run a league or any business by worrying about if it's fair to those from the past... Things evolve.

The thing I like about it is it will force teams to improve, now they have to build to be a top 16 team in the league and not just a top 8 team in their conference... too many teams seem happy to just make the playoffs, I think after a few years we'd see a much better league from east to west with a format like this in place

[theoneneo]

There isn't a problem with the damn format. There wasn't a problem with the format in the past. It's just the League isn't filled with Superstars anymore, no one wants to see the damn bucks and Hawks, and Raptors play.

Just force kids to stay in school longer to develop, come into the league better. Develop these young guys into stars.

[AboutBuckets]

Also the 1st round should be 3 games, 2nd should be 5 games, 3rd should be 7, and Finals should be 7 as well. More parity is better for the NBA, period.

I'd rather see 5 - 5 - 7 - 7. Three in a series is a bit short IMO

[Practice?]

Finally.

[sportjames23]

I hope that they don't mess with the playoff format. There is talk of having a cross-conference 1st and 2nd round battle and doing away with the conference Finals. Can you imagine what happens if there is a Finals and both teams come from the East or the West? There could be a Finals where you have the Bulls vs the Cavs for the title. Or the Spurs vs the Trail Blazers. Come on, now. No keep the playoff format the way it is.

This.

[oarabbus]

I hope that they don't mess with the playoff format. There is talk of having a cross-conference 1st and 2nd round battle and doing away with the conference Finals. Can you imagine what happens if there is a Finals and both teams come from the East or the West? There could be a Finals where you have the Bulls vs the Cavs for the title. Or the Spurs vs the Trail Blazers. Come on, now. No keep the playoff format the way it is.

So what? If the Spurs and Blazers are the two best teams in the league, let them meet up in the finals... You could have a New York Jets vs Giants Superbowl. Or a Raiders vs. Niners superbowl. Or Cowboys-Texans. Rams-Chiefs. Dolphins-Bucs. There are many more of those kinds of possibilities. Baseball too. This is literally a non-issue.


I've said this many times -- 6+2 is the best of all worlds.

1) No change to conference or division alignment
2) Top 6 teams in each conference auto qualify for playoffs
3) The best remaining 4 teams, by record, qualify for the playoffs, regardless of conference.
4) The wild 4 teams are randomly assigned to a conference for the playoffs, after which their seeding is determined by their record. They are not locked into the 7-8 seed, this is to protect the 1-2 seeds.

Last year it would have fixed the chaos in the western conference:

West:

1) Spurs
2) Thunder
3) Clippers
4) Blazers
5) Rockets
6) Warriors

7 + 8 ) randomly selected from best remaining 4 teams -- Memphis, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte

End result -- Hawks don't make the playoffs with a 38-44 record. Suns do make the playoffs with a 48-34 record. Conference rivalries remain in tact. Most likely we still see Heat and Spurs in the finals.

End of season games involving the Timberwolves would have significant playoff implications. More teams in the playoff hunt at the end = more interesting regular season.

New matchups become possible: Suns, if randomly assigned to the East, would have been the 4 seed, playing Brooklyn in the first round. If Dallas was assigned to the East, they'd be the 3 seed and play the Wizards in the first round.



:applause: :applause:

Wildcard is the way to go. Adds tons of excitement and makes the league more popular (fans love Wildcard games) and keeps balance and parity without totally eliminating conferences.

[Jasper]

I agree...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/adam-silver-says-the-nba--need-s--to-make-a-change--in-its-playoff-format-232835099.html
he learned it from ISH :pimp:

[dunksby]

The idea that is being entertained is that all division winners get into the playoffs and the 10 remaining spots will be filled by teams with the best record.

[The Genius]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2706373/lebronrun_medium.gif

Why did he do this again? Got called for a foul?

[Clyde]

The idea that is being entertained is that all division winners get into the playoffs and the 10 remaining spots will be filled by teams with the best record.

they better put a bigger emphasis on division games if that's the case.

[magic chiongson]

:applause::applause::applause:

do it.

[tmacattack33]

I don't have time to read the article, but if it's just proposing a top 1-16 team playoff regardless of conference, this will have a major unintended consequence...

that is, it will further minimize the importance of the regular season for elite teams, as any elite team would basically be able sleep walk through the regular season and still be able to be in the top 16 teams in the entire league.

If they get rid of conference seeding, they better also drop the total amount of playoff teams to 12 and ad in a first-round bye. Otherwise, the regular season becomes even more meaningless.

[T_L_P]

I don't have time to read the article, but if it's just proposing a top 1-16 team playoff regardless of conference, this will have a major unintended consequence...

that is, it will further minimize the importance of the regular season for elite teams, as any elite team would basically be able sleep walk through the regular season and still be able to be in the top 16 teams in the entire league.

If they get rid of conference seeding, they better also drop the total amount of playoff teams to 12 and ad in a first-round bye. Otherwise, the regular season becomes even more meaningless.

Teams would still push for HCA and the prospect of facing the weakest team.

If anything, you could argue it would make it more meaningful. The Spurs might not rest as many players if they thought they could face the Hornets or Heat in rd 1.

The West 1-8 is so evenly matched that seeding barely even matters. But getting to face those poverty teams out East? They'd definitely try more.

[kshutts1]

My dream playoff scenario:

1) Top 16 teams make it, regardless of conference/division, etc (I honestly see no purpose for divisions any longer)

2) Top seed CHOOSES their opponent. Then second seed. If a team chooses another top 8 seed, then the 9th seed will pick an opponent, etc. Every team picks who they play, every round. This can create some serious bad blood, excitement, and allow players/teams to choose favorable matchups... but then the chosen team has a huge chip on their shoulder. Imagine, for a minute, that a team CHOOSES to play the Cavs and Lebron. Does he come out angry, and go Celtics-saiyan on that team? Do teams avoid choosing the Cavs (or any other team with a great player) for that reason?

3) Best of 3 series in every round. 5 and 7 are great because they (generally) allow the best team to win. But shorter series' create more excitement with the "underdog" factor.

[tpols]

I've said this many times -- 6+2 is the best of all worlds.

1) No change to conference or division alignment
2) Top 6 teams in each conference auto qualify for playoffs
3) The best remaining 4 teams, by record, qualify for the playoffs, regardless of conference.
4) The wild 4 teams are randomly assigned to a conference for the playoffs, after which their seeding is determined by their record. They are not locked into the 7-8 seed, this is to protect the 1-2 seeds.

Last year it would have fixed the chaos in the western conference:

West:

1) Spurs
2) Thunder
3) Clippers
4) Blazers
5) Rockets
6) Warriors

7 + 8 ) randomly selected from best remaining 4 teams -- Memphis, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte

End result -- Hawks don't make the playoffs with a 38-44 record. Suns do make the playoffs with a 48-34 record. Conference rivalries remain in tact. Most likely we still see Heat and Spurs in the finals.

End of season games involving the Timberwolves would have significant playoff implications. More teams in the playoff hunt at the end = more interesting regular season.

New matchups become possible: Suns, if randomly assigned to the East, would have been the 4 seed, playing Brooklyn in the first round. If Dallas was assigned to the East, they'd be the 3 seed and play the Wizards in the first round.

That would give an unfair advantage to middling 7-9 West teams over better 4-6 West seeds.. Shit if I was houston or golden state last year I might tank out of my position for the chance at getting HCA against a weaker East opponent

Still would be better than what we have though.

[T_L_P]

Do you guys even like basketball?

You are seriously cool with the NBA champion potentially playing 8 Playoff games?

Not to mention, best two of three wouldn't decide the best team a lot of the time. A role player gets hot once and the series is half over. Coaches don't have time to make longstanding, smart changes.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

If we're only talking about the Top 16 teams making the postseason, irregardless of the conference - I am all ears!!

Not sure why anyone wouldn't want MORE quality basketball. :confusedshrug:

[kshutts1]

Do you guys even like basketball?

You are seriously cool with the NBA champion potentially playing 8 Playoff games?

Not to mention, best two of three wouldn't decide the best team a lot of the time. A role player gets hot once and the series is half over. Coaches don't have time to make longstanding, smart changes.
Best team doesn't need to win for the games to be entertaining.

Super bowl is sometimes interesting, and I'd argue that the best team rarely wins.
Hell, Giants beating Pats, and blocking their perfect season, was incredible BECAUSE the underdog won. Because it was so unexpected. Because, we all know, the Pats would win 99 times out of 100. But not that time. Not that game.

[Crimsonrain777]

would any changes to the playoff format take effect this year if they were planning to make them?


also, sounds awesome. i'm all in favor for something besides the status quo

[Dengness9]

Leave em how they are for the history books

[Clyde]

would any changes to the playoff format take effect this year if they were planning to make them?


also, sounds awesome. i'm all in favor for something besides the status quo

no. nothing would change this year.

and I doubt it will ever change. The owners of the bottom of the east bracket wont want to give up all that extra revenue.

[Doranku]

RIP LeBron's future title hopes :(

[DeuceWallaces]

Yeah, it'd be crazy if the Lakers and the Knicks both missed the... oh wait.

Oh wait, the LA market is in the playoffs and NY is a half game out; thanks in part to the current system. Dumbass.