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NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
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Wedge Offline
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NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22483...nges-ideas

Quote:Because of a recent history of imbalance between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, there have been some calls to take the best 16 teams per season, regardless of conference. In his annual All-Star Saturday news conference, Silver hinted at a compromise.

Silver said his concept would keep the best eight teams from each conference in the playoffs, but would seed those teams 1-16. In that scenario, if the top two teams were from the same conference, it would set up a possible Finals meeting.

"You also would like to have a format where your two best teams are ultimately going to meet in the Finals," Silver said. "You could have a situation where the top two teams in the league are meeting in the conference finals or somewhere else. So we're going to continue to look at that. It's still my hope that we're going to figure out ways."

As the linked article points out, Silver is proposing that each conference still get 8 playoff teams, because any change to the playoff format requires at least 20 of the 30 owners to vote in favor, and there's no possibility of eastern conference owners voting for a format in which their conference might not have 8 playoff teams.

That same sentiment might prevent Silver's plan from passing. If eastern conference owners are that worried about an imbalance between the conferences, they might be worried that after the first round of playoffs there would be 6 western teams and 2 eastern teams remaining, or that there might be a run of a few years in a row in which both finalists are from the west. Those owners wouldn't have to say that out loud to vote no; they could just say that they are voting no because they are concerned about the extra playoff travel that would be required by the 1-16 playoff bracket.
02-18-2018 06:31 PM
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vandiver49 Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 06:31 PM)Wedge Wrote:  http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22483...nges-ideas

Quote:Because of a recent history of imbalance between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, there have been some calls to take the best 16 teams per season, regardless of conference. In his annual All-Star Saturday news conference, Silver hinted at a compromise.

Silver said his concept would keep the best eight teams from each conference in the playoffs, but would seed those teams 1-16. In that scenario, if the top two teams were from the same conference, it would set up a possible Finals meeting.

"You also would like to have a format where your two best teams are ultimately going to meet in the Finals," Silver said. "You could have a situation where the top two teams in the league are meeting in the conference finals or somewhere else. So we're going to continue to look at that. It's still my hope that we're going to figure out ways."

As the linked article points out, Silver is proposing that each conference still get 8 playoff teams, because any change to the playoff format requires at least 20 of the 30 owners to vote in favor, and there's no possibility of eastern conference owners voting for a format in which their conference might not have 8 playoff teams.

That same sentiment might prevent Silver's plan from passing. If eastern conference owners are that worried about an imbalance between the conferences, they might be worried that after the first round of playoffs there would be 6 western teams and 2 eastern teams remaining, or that there might be a run of a few years in a row in which both finalists are from the west. Those owners wouldn't have to say that out loud to vote no; they could just say that they are voting no because they are concerned about the extra playoff travel that would be required by the 1-16 playoff bracket.

Agreed, I can’t see the Eastern owners signing up for something that would reduce their playoff exposure, regardless of competitiveness. The question I have is why has this imbalance persisted for so long?
02-18-2018 06:56 PM
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chargeradio Offline
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Post: #3
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
Why not reshuffle the conferences?

American
West - LA Clippers, Denver, Sacramento, San Antonio, Utah
Central - Oklahoma City, Memphis, Minnesota, Indiana, Cleveland
East - Brooklyn, Miami, Charlotte, Washington, Boston

National
West - LA Lakers, Phoenix, Golden State, Houston, Portland
Central - Dallas, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit
East - New York, Orlando, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Toronto

Probably works better with 32 because then San Antonio could be moved from the ABC West to the ABC Central. Louisville or Kansas City could send Dallas to the NBC West.
02-18-2018 08:06 PM
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Wedge Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 06:56 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  
(02-18-2018 06:31 PM)Wedge Wrote:  http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22483...nges-ideas

Quote:Because of a recent history of imbalance between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, there have been some calls to take the best 16 teams per season, regardless of conference. In his annual All-Star Saturday news conference, Silver hinted at a compromise.

Silver said his concept would keep the best eight teams from each conference in the playoffs, but would seed those teams 1-16. In that scenario, if the top two teams were from the same conference, it would set up a possible Finals meeting.

"You also would like to have a format where your two best teams are ultimately going to meet in the Finals," Silver said. "You could have a situation where the top two teams in the league are meeting in the conference finals or somewhere else. So we're going to continue to look at that. It's still my hope that we're going to figure out ways."

As the linked article points out, Silver is proposing that each conference still get 8 playoff teams, because any change to the playoff format requires at least 20 of the 30 owners to vote in favor, and there's no possibility of eastern conference owners voting for a format in which their conference might not have 8 playoff teams.

That same sentiment might prevent Silver's plan from passing. If eastern conference owners are that worried about an imbalance between the conferences, they might be worried that after the first round of playoffs there would be 6 western teams and 2 eastern teams remaining, or that there might be a run of a few years in a row in which both finalists are from the west. Those owners wouldn't have to say that out loud to vote no; they could just say that they are voting no because they are concerned about the extra playoff travel that would be required by the 1-16 playoff bracket.

Agreed, I can’t see the Eastern owners signing up for something that would reduce their playoff exposure, regardless of competitiveness. The question I have is why has this imbalance persisted for so long?

It's not only persisted, it's become more pronounced. It's not a valid excuse to be discouraged by the long run of LeBron's teams in the east, because teams in the west haven't given up trying to be better than the Warriors.
02-18-2018 08:28 PM
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goofus Offline
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Post: #5
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
Or just get rid of the conferences and have 5 divisions of 6 teams each

Pacific division
LAC, LAL, GS, Sac, Por, PHX

Southwest
Utah, Den, SA, Dal, Hou, OKC

North Central
Minn, Mil, Chi, Indy, Det, Cle

North East
TOR, Bos, NYK, Brooklyn, Phi, Wash

South East
Atl, Char, Orl, Miami, Mem, NO

Play each team outside your division 2 times. Each team inside your division 7 times.
02-18-2018 09:31 PM
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Wedge Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 09:31 PM)goofus Wrote:  Play each team outside your division 2 times. Each team inside your division 7 times.

There would still be the issue that good teams in weak divisions would have too much of an advantage toward having a better overall record than equally good teams in good divisions.

In a perfect world, the NBA could just play a double round-robin of 58 games, each team playing each other team twice, but they're not going to reduce the number of games.
02-18-2018 10:20 PM
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Post: #7
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
The NBA goes in cycles. If Eastern Conference teams want to get better then their GMs and owners need to work out better trades.
02-18-2018 11:09 PM
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Wedge Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
If this is a cycle, it's a very long cycle.

You're right that the eastern GMs and owners, not just the players, are lagging behind, with one or two exceptions.
02-18-2018 11:16 PM
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BePcr07 Offline
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Post: #9
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 09:31 PM)goofus Wrote:  Or just get rid of the conferences and have 5 divisions of 6 teams each

Pacific division
LAC, LAL, GS, Sac, Por, PHX

Southwest
Utah, Den, SA, Dal, Hou, OKC

North Central
Minn, Mil, Chi, Indy, Det, Cle

North East
TOR, Bos, NYK, Brooklyn, Phi, Wash

South East
Atl, Char, Orl, Miami, Mem, NO

Play each team outside your division 2 times. Each team inside your division 7 times.

I’ve proposed this or something similar before. Give each division 1 AQ.
02-18-2018 11:39 PM
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NoDak Offline
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Post: #10
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
The Clippers and Lakers both will make a run for LeBron, who now quarrels openly again with the Cav's owner and has already delivered on a promised Cleveland championship. The East -West divide will become even more pronounced.
(This post was last modified: 02-19-2018 12:32 AM by NoDak.)
02-19-2018 12:31 AM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 06:31 PM)Wedge Wrote:  http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22483...nges-ideas

Quote:Because of a recent history of imbalance between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, there have been some calls to take the best 16 teams per season, regardless of conference. In his annual All-Star Saturday news conference, Silver hinted at a compromise.

Silver said his concept would keep the best eight teams from each conference in the playoffs, but would seed those teams 1-16. In that scenario, if the top two teams were from the same conference, it would set up a possible Finals meeting.

"You also would like to have a format where your two best teams are ultimately going to meet in the Finals," Silver said. "You could have a situation where the top two teams in the league are meeting in the conference finals or somewhere else. So we're going to continue to look at that. It's still my hope that we're going to figure out ways."

As the linked article points out, Silver is proposing that each conference still get 8 playoff teams, because any change to the playoff format requires at least 20 of the 30 owners to vote in favor, and there's no possibility of eastern conference owners voting for a format in which their conference might not have 8 playoff teams.

That same sentiment might prevent Silver's plan from passing. If eastern conference owners are that worried about an imbalance between the conferences, they might be worried that after the first round of playoffs there would be 6 western teams and 2 eastern teams remaining, or that there might be a run of a few years in a row in which both finalists are from the west. Those owners wouldn't have to say that out loud to vote no; they could just say that they are voting no because they are concerned about the extra playoff travel that would be required by the 1-16 playoff bracket.

And how would that work? By record? The teams don't play the same schedule, so how is it fair to seed them 1-16? It'd be wiser to just combine the league and abolish conferences, what's the point anyways? It's not like college sports where conferences are inherently inequal.

If you go 1-16, just abolish conferences. For starters that stops teams from the weaker conference from getting otherwise unwarranted playoff appearances.
02-19-2018 02:07 AM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 10:20 PM)Wedge Wrote:  
(02-18-2018 09:31 PM)goofus Wrote:  Play each team outside your division 2 times. Each team inside your division 7 times.

There would still be the issue that good teams in weak divisions would have too much of an advantage toward having a better overall record than equally good teams in good divisions.

In a perfect world, the NBA could just play a double round-robin of 58 games, each team playing each other team twice, but they're not going to reduce the number of games.

Unfortunately...the NBA season is a bore until playoff time anyways, why not reduce inventory and then come postseason time increase the chances of a matchup of superstars?

Not that this is anything but idle chatter.
02-19-2018 02:12 AM
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 11:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  If this is a cycle, it's a very long cycle.

You're right that the eastern GMs and owners, not just the players, are lagging behind, with one or two exceptions.

Almost two decades, since Jordan retired. If not for LeBron, D-Wade, Shaq and one major upset (Pistons), you're looking at two decades of total Western domination. As a matter of fact, other than LeBron, the other NBA Finals wins were upsets for the EC and even LeBron had an upset win mixed in there.

None of the WC wins were upsets except maybe the Mavs title.
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2018 04:38 AM by C2__.)
02-19-2018 02:28 AM
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goofus Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-18-2018 10:20 PM)Wedge Wrote:  
(02-18-2018 09:31 PM)goofus Wrote:  Play each team outside your division 2 times. Each team inside your division 7 times.

There would still be the issue that good teams in weak divisions would have too much of an advantage toward having a better overall record than equally good teams in good divisions.

In a perfect world, the NBA could just play a double round-robin of 58 games, each team playing each other team twice, but they're not going to reduce the number of games.

I guess one way to even things out under my 6-team 5-divisions setup is to set up 2 sister divisions where they play each team from your sister divisions 4 times. Then they just play teams from the other 2 divions still only twice. So under my setup the sister divisions would be

Pacific (Southwest, North Central)

Southwest (Pacific, Southeast)

North Central (Pacific, Northeast)

Southeast (Southwest, Northeast)

Northeast (North Central, Southeast)

With this setup, this reduces the number of games inside the division to 4 or 5 games, or about the same number of games that you play against your sister divisions.
02-19-2018 06:06 AM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
I've proposed 3 conferences. 5 games with teams in your division plus two more games, 4 times in the intraconference division and twice against everyone else. Each conference sends 4 teams to the playoffs.
02-19-2018 06:29 AM
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goofus Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-19-2018 06:29 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  I've proposed 3 conferences. 5 games with teams in your division plus two more games, 4 times in the intraconference division and twice against everyone else. Each conference sends 4 teams to the playoffs.

That thought crossed my mind, but if you try to do it geographically, it's hard to find a good team #9 and #10 for the Western Conference.
02-19-2018 03:55 PM
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chargeradio Offline
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Post: #17
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
I actually would like to see the 5 x 6 setup:

Pacific - LAL, LAC, Golden State, Sacramento, Portland, Phoenix
West - Utah, Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, OKC
Central - Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Detroit, Cleveland
South - New Orleans, Memphis, Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami
East - Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Toronto

For 30 teams, start with a league-wide double round-robin, then 24 additional games inside your division, which means teams will play up to 7 times during the regular season.

The beauty of this alignment is at 31 teams. The schedule format is the same, although the divisions with six teams plays 22 extra division games, and the division with seven team plays 24 extra division games (an exact 6/2 setup). This also gives maximum flexiblity with expansion - want to add Seattle? You have the option of Phoenix changing divisions. Want to add Seattle and Kansas City? Kansas City can go in the West or Central.

At 32 teams, all the divisions are splitting 20 extra division games.

At 33 teams, the seven team divisions get an even 5/2 setup, while the six team divisions have 5/2 with 3 extra division games.
02-19-2018 06:40 PM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
If only the Sonics had stayed in Seattle. Maybe you slide Memphis, OKC and/or New Orleans over to the west to protect the Texas trio.

That said, you wouldn't necessarily have to do it geographically sensibly. You could even mix and match some divisions/teams.

Or maybe five divisions of six, which eliminates all the bad fits.
(This post was last modified: 02-25-2018 07:31 PM by C2__.)
02-19-2018 07:18 PM
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vandiver49 Offline
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RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
(02-19-2018 02:28 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  
(02-18-2018 11:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  If this is a cycle, it's a very long cycle.

You're right that the eastern GMs and owners, not just the players, are lagging behind, with one or two exceptions.

Almost two decades, since Jordan retired. If not for LeBron, D-Wade, Shaq and one major upset (Pistons), you're looking at two decades of total Western domination. As a matter of fact, other than LeBron, the other NBA Finals wins were upsets for the EC and even LeBron had an upset win mixed in there.

None of the WC wins were upsets except maybe the Mass title.

Yea, if its a cycle then its out of phase. The thing is why do players not want to play in the East? Outside of BOS and LeBron, ,its an all star wasteland.
02-19-2018 07:57 PM
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Post: #20
RE: NBA commish wants to seed playoff teams 1-16 regardless of conference
There was just better management out west. The Lakers and Spurs of course were model organizations and others had good/great management too like the Mavs, Jazz, Blazers, Thunder/Sonics, Suns and Rockets.
02-20-2018 05:24 AM
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