NBA considering scrapping East/West conferences and going to 1-16 playoffs

[footey]

This is a Mark Cuban proposal, who can't stand that his team misses the play-offs when inferior Eastern Conf teams make it.

It won't go anywhere.

[Rakulp]

Knee jerk reactions to perceived problems rarely works out...

...the jerk part screws things up

Stay the course.

Rak

[PhoSita]

I could not be more in favor of this.

Conferences are outdated!

Why should we have to watch the Pistons or the too-young Sixers in the playoffs instead of the Blazers, Nuggets, Clips, etc?

Why should 4 contenders murder each other out West while the Cavs skate to the Finals every year?

This isn't a short term problem; the conferences have been imbalanced for a couple decades now.  When was the last time there was a comparable number of legitimate contenders in the East as in the West?  2009-2010?

When was the last time that was the case for more than a season or two at at time?

The talent imbalance between the Conferences right now is nuts.  Probably two thirds of the top 30 players in the league are in the West, if not more.

Scrap conferences.


Yes, this would make it significantly harder for the Celts to stand out, but it would mean a lot more to make the Conference Finals if there were more than one legitimate contender in the conference.

[Birdman]

Be great!!!!

[ManUp]

Just so players can run away from cold cities and flock to warmer states?

No thanks.

[PhoSita]

Just so players can run away from cold cities and flock to warmer states?

No thanks.

Explain your reasoning on this.

The existence of conferences hasn't exactly deterred the players from bunching on teams in the southwest / pacific coast as it is.

[Moranis]

The West clearly has more good teams at the top but I'm not so sure more Eastern teams wouldn't make the playoffs even this year and even with a balanced schedule.

[Moranis]

If .700 as a win percentage is a contender you don't have to go back that far to find 3 teams in the East at that Mark and 1 western teams hitting it.  In fact from the 07-08 season this is how the East and West compare with .700 teams (that percentage btw doesn't include many title winners)

2:0
3:1
2:0
3:1
1:2
1:2
0:2
1:1
0:2
0:2

So since 07-08 there have been exactly 13 teams from each conference that won at least 70% of their games and a lot of James' teams don't even hit that mark and some of the west's best haven't either.

[PhoSita]

Take a look at the Simple Rating System (SRS) for the top 4 teams in each conference.


2016-2017

East ... 3.65, 2.87, 2.25, 1.36

West ... 11.35, 7.13, 5.84, 4.42


2015-2016

East ... 5.45, 4.08, 3.49, 2.84

West ... 10.38, 10.28, 7.09, 4.13


2014-2015

East ... 4.75, 4.08, 2.54, 2.45

West ... 10.01, 6.80, 6.34, 4.41


2013-2014

East ... 4.15, 3.63, 2.55, 1.20

West ... 8.00, 7.27, 6.66, 5.15


2012-2013

East ... 7.03, 3.73, 3.35, 1.25

West ... 9.15, 6.67, 6.43, 5.37


2011-2012

East ... 7.43, 5.72, 3.59, 2.67

West ... 7.28, 6.44, 3.16, 2.82


2010-2011

East ... 6.76, 6.53, 4.92, 4.83

West ... 6.01, 5.86, 4.81, 4.41


2009-2010

East ... 7.12, 6.17, 4.44, 3.37

West ... 5.33, 5.07, 4.78, 4.67


2008-2009

East ... 8.68, 7.44, 6.48, 1.70

West ... 7.11, 5.00, 3.73, 3.36


2007-2008

East ... 9.30, 6.67, 4.79, 2.47

West ... 7.34, 6.86, 5.46, 5.14


2006-2007

East ... 4.52, 3.69, 3.33, 0.61

West ... 8.35, 7.28, 7.28, 5.04





I think these numbers are a lot more valuable than simple win percentage because the Simple Rating System takes into account point differential and strength of schedule.

It becomes clear looking at these numbers that the imbalance has been severe since at least 2012.

There were a few years in the 2008-2011 range where the East had several strong teams, notably the Celts, Cavs, and Magic.  In those same years, the depth of quality teams (2.5-4 SRS) was better in the West, whereas the East tended to be shallow.

Prior to that, going back to 2007, you can see that the tail end of another period of deep conference imbalance.  That was an especially bad year.



Overall, I just don't see the value in even a single season of this kind of imbalance. 

[celticsclay]

Take a look at the Simple Rating System (SRS) for the top 4 teams in each conference.


2016-2017

East ... 3.65, 2.87, 2.25, 1.36

West ... 11.35, 7.13, 5.84, 4.42


2015-2016

East ... 5.45, 4.08, 3.49, 2.84

West ... 10.38, 10.28, 7.09, 4.13


2014-2015

East ... 4.75, 4.08, 2.54, 2.45

West ... 10.01, 6.80, 6.34, 4.41


2013-2014

East ... 4.15, 3.63, 2.55, 1.20

West ... 8.00, 7.27, 6.66, 5.15


2012-2013

East ... 7.03, 3.73, 3.35, 1.25

West ... 9.15, 6.67, 6.43, 5.37


2011-2012

East ... 7.43, 5.72, 3.59, 2.67

West ... 7.28, 6.44, 3.16, 2.82


2010-2011

East ... 6.76, 6.53, 4.92, 4.83

West ... 6.01, 5.86, 4.81, 4.41


2009-2010

East ... 7.12, 6.17, 4.44, 3.37

West ... 5.33, 5.07, 4.78, 4.67


2008-2009

East ... 8.68, 7.44, 6.48, 1.70

West ... 7.11, 5.00, 3.73, 3.36


2007-2008

East ... 9.30, 6.67, 4.79, 2.47

West ... 7.34, 6.86, 5.46, 5.14


2006-2007

East ... 4.52, 3.69, 3.33, 0.61

West ... 8.35, 7.28, 7.28, 5.04





I think these numbers are a lot more valuable than simple win percentage because the Simple Rating System takes into account point differential and strength of schedule.

It becomes clear looking at these numbers that the imbalance has been severe since at least 2012.

There were a few years in the 2008-2011 range where the East had several strong teams, notably the Celts, Cavs, and Magic.  In those same years, the depth of quality teams (2.5-4 SRS) was better in the West, whereas the East tended to be shallow.

Prior to that, going back to 2007, you can see that the tail end of another period of deep conference imbalance.  That was an especially bad year.



Overall, I just don't see the value in even a single season of this kind of imbalance.

I 100% agree. This really shows how easy it has been for the top 1 or 2 teams in the east the last 5 years (and throws a little cold water on lebron making the finals each year because of weak competition). Let's fix this yesterday

[tarheelsxxiii]

That shift could decrease number of "superstars" in the league; make that label clearer and more meaningful in the process. 

[celticsclay]

If this was in place this year who would be favorites to meet in the finals? Houston and golden state?

[celticsclay]

If this was in place this year who would be favorites to meet in the finals? Houston and golden state?

[Moranis]

If this was in place this year who would be favorites to meet in the finals? Houston and golden state?

Golden State and then about 6 teams all about even odds based largely on actual seeding which is way to random to predict.

[Redz]

A more balanced schedule would be interesting. Maybe even a slightly weighted one like the NFL uses, where the teams that finished with better records the previous season would play each other more frequently.

I know there's no good way to do it, but I'd always thought it would be cool to hold an NCAA like, single elimination, tournament with NBA teams.  But there would be no way to ever have the games carry the same weight.

In essence, I think I'm opposed to losing the conferences.