Playoffs need to go back to best of 5 in first round.

[L.Kizzle]

Seriously, none of these series are going seven except maybe the Raptors/Pacers.

[TommyGriffin]

They really should.

[senelcoolidge]

I totally totally agree.

[thefatmiral]

Does an 1st seed really need to beat a 8th 4 times to prove there better. It's dumb.

[stalkerforlife]

I'm so sick of these lopsided first round match-ups being a 7 game series.

Go back to 5, PLEASE.

[KlayThompson21]

**** 7 game first round series. They are a waste of time.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Wasn't it just 2 years ago that there were like 5 1st round series that went to 7 games? Chill tf out.

[robby712]

The problem with that is sometimes you have good first round series. LAC SAS last year, SAS DAL a couple years ago and so on. Leave the round a 7 game series but make it that if a team is up 3-0, then it's over.

[Hittin_Shots]

Most teams have held home court, shock and awe...

[Bosnian Sajo]

More games = more money, plain and simple. Absolutely no reason to make it 5 games instead of 7.

[GrapeApe]

The problem with that is sometimes you have good first round series. LAC SAS last year, SAS DAL a couple years ago and so on. Leave the round a 7 game series but make it that if a team is up 3-0, then it's over.

Interesting idea, kind of a mercy rule. I like it. Nobody has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit anyway.

[Spaulding]

I dunno, seeing OKC struggle for 7 games is entertaining.

[BlazerRed]

Yep

[coin24]

The trouble is not the format but the piss poor quality teams..

There are only 4 decent teams out of 30. So the first and second rounds are going to be average..
Miami vs Cleveland and Spurs vs warriors is where the real playoffs start:cheers:

[G-train]

More games = more money, plain and simple.

Yep

[L.Kizzle]

Wasn't it just 2 years ago that there were like 5 1st round series that went to 7 games? Chill tf out.
All that means is that those series would have went 5 games. We have to watch 2 more Spurs/Grizzlies games man.

[SouBeachTalents]

It's shocking how awful & noncompetitive the first round has been so far, first all the Game 1 massacres and the two absolute duds tonight. The NBA would literally never do it because less games would mean less $$, but I also think the league would be better off with a best of 5 first round

[LAZERUSS]

Seriously, none of these series are going seven except maybe the Raptors/Pacers.

At least this year.

This has been the most awful first round I can remember.

Some of these teams must have drawn short straws and HAD to play in the playoffs.

[L.Kizzle]

Or, we can go back even further to the infancy days of the league where there was a best of 3. And a round robin first round series. And the best team from the conference had a bi.

[coin24]

At least this year.

This has been the most awful first round I can remember.

Some of these teams must have drawn short straws and HAD to play in the playoffs.


That's my point, there isn't even 8 competitive teams in each conference. Top 4-5 barely..

Memphis lost most of there last 20 games but the rest of the west is so shit they couldn't even drop out of the 8:lol

The east was even, from like 4-12... All garbage pretenders

[Dragonyeuw]

Hell, I'd like to see the first round eliminated completely. The season is long enough already, then to have 2 weeks wasted watching 3-4 teams in each conference with no shot at a title. Open up the format for cross-conference matchups, top 8 teams by record. For this year, the brackets would play out like this:

(1)Golden State vs (8)Atlanta
(4) Toronto vs (5) OKC

(3)Cleveland vs (6) LA Clippers
(2) San Antonio vs (7) Miami

[deja vu]

And make less money? No.

[Dragonyeuw]

And make less money? No.

That would be their only reason for doing it. But at least this year, they're selling a diluted product. The first round has been pretty cringe-worthy this year. No one wants to see a series of blow-outs.

[coin24]

And make less money? No.

In reality this is all it boils down to.. So nothing will change

[deja vu]

I personally think that some blowouts are exciting. Humiliating opponents is sometimes fun to see.

[ArbitraryWater]

I would have never agreed with this a year ago, I do now..

Exciting 7 game series' are exciting in 5, too..

They won't bore on too long, if it's 3-0 it's done, we know who'd win anyway, and much greater chance for underdogs to win. Makes it more exciting.

[sportjames23]

The trouble is not the format but the piss poor quality teams..

There are only 4 decent teams out of 30. So the first and second rounds are going to be average..
Miami vs Cleveland and Spurs vs warriors is where the real playoffs start:cheers:


This.

But I agree with OP, go back to best of 5 for the first round.

[Klay 3D]

Best of 7, 3-0 skunk

[Captvic]

The trouble is not the format but the piss poor quality teams..

There are only 4 decent teams out of 30. So the first and second rounds are going to be average..
Miami vs Cleveland and Spurs vs warriors is where the real playoffs start:cheers:

Exactly, the playoffs should be top 16 teams

[fiddy]

More games=longer season=shorter summer for the casual fan. Im good as it is right now.

[Papaya Petee]

**** you they should.

After the seasons over we got months of boredom and nothing to watch.

The more basketball the better :cheers:

[Bigsmoke]

more games generates more money

[Kiddlovesnets]

If it goes back to best of 5, it may be practically impossible for a team to beat Lakers 15-1 record in 2001, since no team can win 15 straight games in playoffs. With the current format however, all they need is a 16-1 playoffs run, which is definitely doable for a dominant team.

[yobore]

A bunch of overreactions here. Most of the best series I can remember have been first round series. Last year's Spurs-Clippers, the Arenas-Lebron series, the Bulls-Cavs series, the Dallas vs Spurs series a few years ago. I can't think of many series that were better than those in later rounds.

[rmt]

No way. You guys have really short memories. Just because the level between top 4 seeds and bottom 4 seeds is so large THIS year you want to reduce it. Have you forgotten that just last year, Spurs and Clips went 7 games and 5 teams from the SW division made the playoffs. The West has been brutal for 18 years and 7 game series ensures that the better team advances. This year's disparity is an anomaly, not the norm.

[GrapeApe]

If it goes back to best of 5, it may be practically impossible for a team to beat Lakers 15-1 record in 2001, since no team can win 15 straight games in playoffs. With the current format however, all they need is a 16-1 playoffs run, which is definitely doable for a dominant team.

You do realize that 16-1 is a better winning % than 73-9 right? Not only that, it's entirely against playoff teams and with increasingly difficult competition the further you advance.

I really like the idea of keeping the 7 game format but if team is up 3-0 they win the series. Do it for every round, not just the first. No team in history has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit. As someone else mentioned, it would basically be a skunk rule.

[Smoke117]

Agreed.

[3peated]

Why would you want less NBA?