Should Something Be Done About the NBA's Playoff Structure?
jim jones
- Published Content: 12
- Total Views: 0
- Favorited By: 0 CPs
In last year's NBA playoffs there was much controversey and questions about the NBA's seeding structure when the Dallas Mavericks faced the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs. The M 
avericks had the second best record in the Western Conference and the third best record in all of the NBA behind the Spurs and Pistons yet were still the 4th seed in the Western Conference.
The NBA's current playoff was set up so that each division winner were given the first three seeds based on thier record and then the rest of the conference was seeded after that. So despite the Mavericks having 16 more wins than the Nuggets they were seeded lower. It worked out in the end for the Dallas Mavericks as they ended up going to NBA finals, but it bothered fans as they felt that the Western Conference finals were played out in the second round of the playoffs.
This year there may be even more controversy when you will possibly see 4 or 5 teams from the Western Conference who have a better record than any team in the Eastern Conference. The disproportionate amount of talent in the Western Conference is becoming a little absurd and something needs to be done about it.
Should teams like the Houston Rockets or Utah Jazz really be punished for their geographical locations? Both of them have nearly the exact same record as the best team in the Eastern Conference which is the Pistons. But while the Pistons will cruise through the early rounds of the playoffs playing inferior teams like the Magic and the Nets, the Rockets will have to battle through teams with an even better record than their own.
A possible solution to evening the playing field would be to run the NBA playoffs like the NCAA tournament. Not in the aspect of having each round of the playoffs be one game because that only works for the NCAA because of the massive size of the playing field. The best of 7 series is great for the NBA as it really gives the better team the chance to prove they are the best team.
The NBA's current playoff was set up so that each division winner were given the first three seeds based on thier record and then the rest of the conference was seeded after that. So despite the Mavericks having 16 more wins than the Nuggets they were seeded lower. It worked out in the end for the Dallas Mavericks as they ended up going to NBA finals, but it bothered fans as they felt that the Western Conference finals were played out in the second round of the playoffs.
This year there may be even more controversy when you will possibly see 4 or 5 teams from the Western Conference who have a better record than any team in the Eastern Conference. The disproportionate amount of talent in the Western Conference is becoming a little absurd and something needs to be done about it.
Should teams like the Houston Rockets or Utah Jazz really be punished for their geographical locations? Both of them have nearly the exact same record as the best team in the Eastern Conference which is the Pistons. But while the Pistons will cruise through the early rounds of the playoffs playing inferior teams like the Magic and the Nets, the Rockets will have to battle through teams with an even better record than their own.
A possible solution to evening the playing field would be to run the NBA playoffs like the NCAA tournament. Not in the aspect of having each round of the playoffs be one game because that only works for the NCAA because of the massive size of the playing field. The best of 7 series is great for the NBA as it really gives the better team the chance to prove they are the best team.