John Hollinger of ESPN's suggestion for new NBA playoff format
Here's the nitty-gritty.
The regular season would play out just as it does now. Then the league would seed the teams 1 to 8 in each conference, just as it does now.
Then it changes -- the two conferences would cross-match in the playoffs, so every series is set up to be East versus West. Of course, in those cases when the lower-seeded West team is able to eliminate the higher-seeded East team, then we would have West versus West, which means this system would be working exactly as intended: We would have the stronger teams meeting in the later rounds, regardless of conference.
This year, for instance, No. 1 Detroit from the East would have faced No. 8 Golden State from the West, and No. 1 Dallas from the West would have faced No. 8 Orlando from the East.
Although we would have lost the scintillating Warriors-Mavs series, the big picture would have been enhanced greatly under this plan. You can quickly see how much better the next three rounds might have been.
Instead of the league's losing its MVP in the first round, Dallas would have had a virtual bye. And Detroit would have been the team facing the stern challenge of beating a torrid Golden State team that was perhaps the most atypical No. 8 seed the league has seen.
And the situation only improves from there, culminating in an NBA Finals with Phoenix facing Dallas or San Antonio.
BRACKET FOR MY PROPOSAL
"East" Half
(1E) Detroit vs. (8W) Golden State
(4W) Utah vs. (5E) Chicago
(2W) Phoenix vs. (7E) Washington
(3E) Toronto vs. (6W) Denver
"West" Half
(1W) Dallas vs. (8E) Orlando
(4E) Miami vs. (5W) Houston
(2E) Cleveland vs. (7W) L.A. Lakers
(3W) San Antonio vs. (6E) New Jersey
As you can see, Phoenix versus San Antonio -- "the real Finals" -- wouldn't be possible until the final round, rather than in Round 2. And in the second round, we'd get the current doozy between Cleveland and San Antonio, which is entirely appropriate.
Also, if Cleveland did make it to the league's final four, it at least would have had to beat a team with a winning record, which was not true this year. Don't you think the league would have preferred that to what actually happened?
Instead of a neutered East, each side of the bracket has some real teams in it. Utah versus Chicago as a first-round series would have been outstanding, as would the LeBron versus Kobe matchup when the Cavs played the Lakers. And the Nuggets, instead of getting ambushed by a first-round pairing against eventual champion San Antonio (just pretend it's next week already), would have had a much more friendly pairing against injury-wracked Toronto (a matchup that instead benefited a 41-win New Jersey team).
Are there snags here? Absolutely. For starters, every series would have to go to the dreaded 2-3-2 format because of the potential for crazy travel situations (Seattle versus Miami, anyone? How about Portland-Toronto?). Nobody really likes the 2-3-2 -- well, nobody except the road-weary media -- because underdogs have almost no chance of clinching the series at home, which is always way more entertaining than seeing them take it on the road.
Additionally, there's the elephant in the room: television. It's tough for the league to count on an early game and a late game to program doubleheaders around when theoretically there could be several West Coast teams hosting playoff games at the same time.
However, this is really a problem only in the second round. In Round 1, the NBA could set up its TV schedule exactly the way it does now (although it might have to guarantee home court to the top four seeds from each conference to make it work). And in the conference finals, there would be only one game a night anyway, so it shouldn't throw anything off-kilter by that point.
Round 2 would be the biggest potential problem. In theory, there is the potential for, say, Portland, Seattle, Golden State and Phoenix to be hosting playoff games in Round 2 at the same point in the schedule. That might necessitate some funky scheduling -- a 5 p.m. local start for the early game or, alternatively, an 11:30 p.m. start on the East Coast for the late game. But that's an unlikely traffic jam, and one that potentially can be scheduled around via weekend day games and creative use of off days.
Besides, let's keep the big picture in mind. The reward for the chance of a somewhat convoluted schedule in the second round is that we don't have to suffer through a Finals like this one or like the Lakers-Nets massacre in 2002, when the East sent a team to the big showcase that clearly had no business being there and devalued the whole event. Seems to me the benefits more than outweigh the costs, and right now there probably are a few folks at ABC who agree with me.
As I said, Game 2 was the wake-up call. Let's hope the league picks up the phone.
__________________
i'm tryna get paid true, i want more g's than a girl named gigi gaggin on some gin and garlic glue grippin greedy grizzly bears gummin grits in greece
I think its much more likely you'll see reseeding within the conferences.
As bad as the Eastern Conference is, outside of the Lakers, all the teams in the East are the ones with the large fanbases, so when you have a final four of Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Utah, you'd be in even worse shape ratings wise.
I think its much more likely you'll see reseeding within the conferences.
As bad as the Eastern Conference is, outside of the Lakers, all the teams in the East are the ones with the large fanbases, so when you have a final four of Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Utah, you'd be in even worse shape ratings wise.
i disagree, i think that sh1t would be phenomenal. look how much complaining has been done about how sorry the east is. not only should this be the format but they need to change to a 50 game regular season.
__________________
i'm tryna get paid true, i want more g's than a girl named gigi gaggin on some gin and garlic glue grippin greedy grizzly bears gummin grits in greece
i disagree, i think that sh1t would be phenomenal. look how much complaining has been done about how sorry the east is. not only should this be the format but they need to change to a 50 game regular season.
Would that make for better basketball? Most likely.
Will that raise the revenue and ratings for the league? Nope.
cross conference playoffs would be good
but the guys basis for this (suns vs. spurs) is flawed
__________________
life was hell every day the devils tryin me but i paid my debt to society after 27 months ill tell you one thing i know why the caged bird sings
cross conference playoffs would be good
but the guys basis for this (suns vs. spurs) is flawed
who cares about his basis? the nba needs a change and i hope that greedy ape stern realizes this and will convene meeting immediately after game 7 of this snoozefest. i boycotted the nba for the last 2 seasons and this year's playoffs got me back in but i be damned if i stay for this bullsh1t.
__________________
i'm tryna get paid true, i want more g's than a girl named gigi gaggin on some gin and garlic glue grippin greedy grizzly bears gummin grits in greece
plus hes saying that the WC is naturally better which i dont agree with
__________________
life was hell every day the devils tryin me but i paid my debt to society after 27 months ill tell you one thing i know why the caged bird sings
plus hes saying that the WC is naturally better which i dont agree with
must be a hard pill to swallow but it's damn sure true. not just the players but the coaching too.
__________________
i'm tryna get paid true, i want more g's than a girl named gigi gaggin on some gin and garlic glue grippin greedy grizzly bears gummin grits in greece
he is right now but what about when fans stop attending games because of this crappy ass result in the playoffs?
__________________
i'm tryna get paid true, i want more g's than a girl named gigi gaggin on some gin and garlic glue grippin greedy grizzly bears gummin grits in greece
Yeah, but if this happens and the final four is Utah, Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix, the league would put up terrible ratings as they're all small market teams.
Yeah, but if this happens and the final four is Utah, Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix, the league would put up terrible ratings as they're all small market teams.
Phoenix is the only appealing team here
stop thinking corporately.
__________________
i'm tryna get paid true, i want more g's than a girl named gigi gaggin on some gin and garlic glue grippin greedy grizzly bears gummin grits in greece
<--- Lotame Behavioral Tags --- >
<--- Lotame Behavioral Tags --- >
John Hollinger of ESPN's suggestion for new NBA playoff format
