In response to Zach Lowe’s “Searching for Balance: The NBA’s Lopsided Conference Problem,” in which Lowe continues his deep diving of the league’s decade-long debacle, he suggests exactly what I was set to propose—namely, that the league get rid of conferences, but without changing the traditional NBA regular season schedule.
As Lowe said, the schedule imbalance already exists; so having the top 16 teams would still allow the East the luxury of playing an easier schedule. The concept of having the best 16 teams playing 2-3-2 playoff matchups makes for a much more magical and exciting format, and promises to weed out most if not all of the sub-.500 teams that would likely be better off playing the lottery than collecting revenue from a couple playoff games regardless.
While a new lottery system probably won’t go into effect for quite some time based on the fact that it will change the value of already traded draft picks, the idea for eliminating conferences could be implemented as soon as next year without as much consequence. Eliminating conference requirements for the playoffs provides the West with a safety net if the East somehow proves unable to sway the tides five, ten, or twenty years from now.
The excitement of inter-conference playoff matchups in a 16-team tournament would be thrilling, slightly mimics the NCAA tournament-style format, and might make the NBA even more popular than it already is. And as Lowe illustrated in his piece, this change might help discourage teams from tanking. If the East didn’t have to field eight playoff teams with one or two teams likely to be below .500 five-game first-round series’, perhaps teams wouldn’t be tanking in the first place. Implementing this playoff format would also make every regular season game even more meaningful for playoff positioning. Furthermore, the good teams in the East shouldn’t have an easier road to the Finals because they can avoid playing other top teams. If the NBA were to take the best 16 teams, this is what the playoff tourney would look like prior to Monday night’s games:
1) Warriors 2) Rockets
16) Pelicans 15) Kings
8) Mavericks 7) Clippers
9) Hawks 10) Wizards
5) Raptors 11) Cavaliers
12) Bulls 6) Spurs
13) Suns 14) Bucks
4) Grizzlies 3) Blazers
Switching to the top 16 teams would swap Miami and Brooklyn from the current playoff field for New Orleans (9-10) and Sacramento (10-10). Dwyane Wade and the Heat shouldn’t be able to limp into the playoffs if they can’t catch Milwaukee (11-11), and the Bucks, along with the Nets (who actually have a first-round pick this year) might be better off long-term playing the lottery than collecting money for two or three home games just because the East requires eight playoff teams. Similarly, if the Pelicans and Kings have better records than the Heat and Nets despite playing in a tougher conference, they should be rewarded for their efforts and enjoyed by the fans in postseason play.
Now, the Rockets would surely object to this being implemented this season based on the details of the Omer Asik trade, but of course commissioner Adam Silver won’t be making such a drastic change mid-season. Still, it makes very little sense for the NBA to continue down a path that allows undeserving teams to make the playoffs while playoff-hungry franchises that are clearly more deserving sit at home.
Imagine if the Raptors had blown up their team last year and we had to suffer through an NFC South-like fight for the Atlantic Division this year. No one wants to see below .500 teams in the playoffs, and Eastern Conference owners are starting to make it clear through their actions that they’d rather tank than risk tripping into the playoffs, earning the eighth seed, and missing out on a higher draft pick. The playoff scheduling would be a little bit trickier, but I doubt that the coaches, players and fans will be upset if preseason games are scrapped and the season begins a month earlier in order to allow for more flexible scheduling come playoff time. At the end of the day this may be the best way for Adam Silver to help put a bandage on the tanking problem he wants fixed. Sure, this won’t stop teams from tanking, and short of adopting Lowe’s “Wheel” concept, which I’m not a fan of by any means, there may not be a way to effectively stop teams from reverting to the strategy. However, at least adopting this playoff format removes one reason teams have to tank.
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