What do you think of this NBA season structure?

[Baller234]

82 Games --> 66 games

- Every team plays each other twice, division rivals play four times.
- Less strain on the players, higher stakes every game.


16 Playoff Teams --> 8 Playoff Teams

- Three division winners and one wild card from each conference.
- Emphasizes regional and team rivalries, something the NBA is sorely lacking.
- Gives more meaning to the regular season.

There's no load management in this scenario. No days off. Every game counts.

Honestly an 8th seed shouldn't even be in the playoffs anyway let alone a 10 seed that won a random play-in. Totally devalues the meaning of the regular season.

In this system every single game is an event. You have to win. Yes some teams will be out of the race midway through the season but who cares? Those teams clearly aren't good anyway. What you get in return is a second half that's wayy more intense and hard fought.

Right now the season starts in October but we know these teams are coasting and it's basically a glorified exhibition. We don't really get any MEANINGFUL basketball until April. The fact that they had to create this retarded cup tournament is proof positive that nobody cares about the regular season. Neither the players nor the fans. That's why they needed a gimmick.

But this can all be easily fixed with less games and less playoff teams.

[SouBeachTalents]

They've needed to reduce the number of regular season games for years now, 82 is simply too long and the fans and players haven't cared about it for years. I would even go further and reduce the schedule to 58, play every team twice. I genuinely believe this would go a long way in restoring the season and actually add some buildup for the marquee matchups. I'd also immediately scrap the absolute embarrassment that the IST is, it was a complete joke from the moment they even floated the idea.

I do get your point that reducing the number of playoff teams to 8 would bring a lot more emphasis and importance towards the regular season, so in theory I'm not opposed to measures that would do that, but I would leave the playoff format as is. You still get some really good matchups and series in the first round and I'd hate to miss out on those. If I were to change anything, I'd reduce the first round back to a best of 5, actually give the big underdogs a fighters chance of pulling off the upset.

[1987_Lakers]

Just wait until LeBron retires and then lower it to 66 games. His records won't be touched and he will be the Forever GOAT.

[Xiao Yao You]

Too much money. Wont happen. They would atill load manage bo matter how many games

[Baller234]

Too much money. Wont happen. They would atill load manage bo matter how many games

This has been the prevailing mindset and it's why it hasn't happened yet, but the league just secured MAJOR revenue with these new media deals over the next ten years. If there was ever a time to gamble, now would be the time.

It would require some blind faith but by getting rid of games you're actually growing the product.

[Xiao Yao You]

They dont want expansion because they would have to share their billions. They arent giving up money

[warriorfan]

They will add games before subtracting them.

[Baller234]

They've needed to reduce the number of regular season games for years now, 82 is simply too long and the fans and players haven't cared about it for years. I would even go further and reduce the schedule to 58, play every team twice. I genuinely believe this would go a long way in restoring the season and actually add some buildup for the marquee matchups. I'd also immediately scrap the absolute embarrassment that the IST is, it was a complete joke from the moment they even floated the idea.

I do get your point that reducing the number of playoff teams to 8 would bring a lot more emphasis and importance towards the regular season, so in theory I'm not opposed to measures that would do that, but I would leave the playoff format as is. You still get some really good matchups and series in the first round and I'd hate to miss out on those. If I were to change anything, I'd reduce the first round back to a best of 5, actually give the big underdogs a fighters chance of pulling off the upset.

I hear you, I love the playoffs, even the first round.

But you have to admit, October to mid-April is meaningless. It's an exhibition. The teams don't even care about seeding anymore, they just care about getting in. The "playoff atmosphere" that everyone loves doesn't kick in UNTIL the playoffs. Less teams fixes that. Now the regular season is it's own "playoff atmosphere".

And I'll be honest, even though I've alwayed love the first round, there was always a sense that the 2nd round is when the REAL playoffs began. So I wouldn't have a problem with rewarding just the elite teams and having an 8 team playoff. Those .500 teams shouldn't have an opportunity to compete for a championship anyway.

[sdot_thadon]

Can they even reduce games with all these content deals they've signed this season? Aren't they airing games on like 200 platforms? Lol I'd imagine that would be the .major roadblock. Ive always been against shortening the seasons becuase of the ****ery it would do to the record books going forward, but i could see the changes revitalizing interest. Going back to 5 games for the 1st rd would up the urgency in the opening stages, but im not even convinced less games will do it for the regular season. It also has to do with fan focus being so heavily on the post season for a while now too. My only question though is alot of us old fans critique the game and see it as dying, but is it really when so much money is flowing through the product?