Fixing The NBA Playoffs

The young Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the NBA's most dynamic and exciting teams. Although most experts believed they were a year or two away from establishing themselves as a quality squad, they have already taken important steps as an organization and, after beating the Hawks in Atlanta yesterday afternoon, have compiled an undeniably impressive 23-18 record. Yes, exactly halfway through their 82-game regular schedule, the up-and-coming Thunder are five games above .500. Armed with a roster loaded with young, talented, and exciting athletes - and of the league's elite superstars in Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City has forced the rest of the NBA, and fans across the country, to take notice. However, NBA enthusiasts outside of Oklahoma haven't had much of a chance to see the OKC crew, as the Thunder are rarely on national television. But that would change if the Kevin Durant and company made some noise in the postseason, right? One small problem with that premise: if this past Sunday had been the final day of the NBA regular season, and the playoffs began on Monday, Durant and the rest of his teammates would have been watching the first round of the postseason from their couches, just like you and me…

"Location, location, location" is an age-old adage in the real estate industry. NBA players and general managers can't choose which conference their teams play in; but, if they could, you would likely see a mass migration of NBA franchises re-locating to the East in 2010… For the majority of the last decade, the Eastern Conference was derided as the J.V. to the West's Varsity, and with good reason. The Western Conference had been a dominant big brother, starting with the Lakers' three straight titles to open the decade, and capped off by L.A.'s most recent championship last June. Sprinkle in a healthy dose of Spurs/Duncan domination, and it is clear that West was the superior conference (the West has won 8 of the last 11 Larry O'Brien trophies.) However, over the last few seasons, the East seemed to be narrowing the gap a bit. Boston's Big 3 won a ring in 2008; and the rise of LeBron's Cavs and Dwight Howard's Magic provided the East with a triumvirate of legit title contenders. And this season, those three squads, along with the up-and-coming Atlanta Hawks, are certainly worthy of considerable respect. But, after that, things get in the East get dicey. As of Monday morning, the two teams tied for the fifth and six seeds – Toronto and Miami – were just a single game above .500. And the Bulls, despite an 18-21 overall record, are firmly entrenched at #8. There is a distinct possibility that two or three sub-.500 teams will qualify for the postseason in the watered-down Eastern Conference.

Contrast that with the ultra-competitive West. As highlighted above, Oklahoma City, despite being five games over .500, will have to fight for their playoff lives all season. Another one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises, the Memphis Grizzlies, would not currently qualify for a postseason berth. The Grizzlies have been one of the most efficient and impressive teams in the league since the start of December (16-6 over that stretch), yet they also currently find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. As do the New Orleans Hornets. Yes, if the playoffs started today, Chris Paul, the best PG in the game, would not partake in the festivities. Much of this has to do with the fact that the Hornets and Grizz both play in the Southwest Conference, which is inarguably the most competitive single division in all of professional sports. Show me another division where every single team is at least two games above .500?

And playing out West doesn't just mean that a playoff berth is that much more difficult to secure; it requires you face stiff competition on a more frequent basis. Take the Thunder for instance. Against the rest of the Western Conference, they are 8-14. But, on the other hand, they have won 15 of the 19 games they have played against foes from the East.

Looking at both sets of standings side-by-side, we can see that if the Thunder, or Hornets, or Grizzlies were in the East, they would currently have the fifth best record in the conference, with an eye on fourth place and possibly securing home-court advantage in the first round. Instead, they are stuck in the West, clawing and scratching for the eight seed – and the right to serve as a sacrificial lamb to the almighty Lakers.

So, how do we remedy this situation? What is the solution? Permanent re-alignment (such as creating an MLB-like National and American leagues) is not a feasible option for a number of reasons, first of which is the possibility that the balance of power would swing back and fourth over the years. Eventually the East could become overloaded, and we would be right back where we started come playoff time.

However, what if David Stern and the NBA powers-that-be decided to re-format the playoff seedings upon each regular season's completion, and allowed in the teams with the 16 best records, regardless of conference affiliation. It would not only reward all 16 teams that performed best over the entirety of the regular season, but would also set up some intensely interesting first-round matchups in the playoffs, as opposed to some of the boring blowouts usually featured early in the postseason.

For instance – let's take a look at how the playoffs seeding would shakeout if the playoffs began on Monday:

1) L.A. Lakers
2) Cleveland Cavaliers
3) Boston Celtics
4) Atlanta Hawks
5) Dallas Mavericks
6) Orlando Magic
7) Denver Nuggets
8) San Antonio Spurs
9) Portland Trailblazers
10) Phoenix Suns
11) Utah Jazz
12) Houston Rockets
13) Oklahoma City Thunder
14) Memphis Grizzlies
15) New Orleans Hornets
16) Miami Heat

So this is how the first-round would shake out – (again, assuming the playoff started yesterday):

In this format, fans would be blessed be some undeniably appetizing matchups. You show me an NBA fan anywhere that wouldn't LOVE to see the Hawks and Thunder square off in a seven-game series to kick off the postseason.

And if the league trimmed the fat, and took in only the 16 top teams (note that 11 of the 16 teams in the NBA Postseason Tournament would be from the West), there wouldn't just be fantastic first-round matchups, there would be increased competition every step of the way. An additional benefit would be avoiding a scenario where the undisputed two best teams are stuck in the same conference. We have seen this situation in the past, when the NBA Finals are all but a formality and a big letdown, after an intense Conference Finals.

The template would be very similar to the NCAA tournament, with each of the sixteen teams placed into brackets. The winner of the 1 vs. 16 game would play the 8 vs. 9 winner; while the winner of the 2 versus 15 game, would take on the winner of the 7 vs. 10 contest. Cleveland and Denver – LeBron versus Carmelo - slugging it out in the second round? Wow.

There would obviously be some concerns raised. For instance, some might feel the travel would be overwhelming. But it would be tough for anybody to justifiably complain about the travel, considering how drawn-out the first round is already – with all the off days, it usually takes weeks for the first-round to finally be completed anyway…

All things considered, there are more pros than cons. So let the pros dance like the college kids. It might add some necessary spice and bring new fans into the NBA fold, which would be a big positive for a league always looking to generate positive publicity, increased attention, and of course additional revenue. Imagine how many 'NBA Tourney Pool sheets' would be filled out in offices across the USA and the world.

Come on David Stern, let's do the right thing.

UPDATED: This topic apparently was more interesting than even we thought it would be.