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

[PhoSita]

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

Here's the thing about the no-conference setup, and what makes it so much better than our current setup.



I DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD MEET IN THE FINALS!


Sure, the Warriors would be in there.  But it would be a real question who they would face when they got there.

[arctic 3.0]

A 40 win eastern conference makes the playoffs.
A 46 win western conference team misses the playoffs.
Western conference team gets better draft pick, improves.
Eastern conference team gets worse pick, stuck in mediocrity.

If we want to move toward parity this is a good proposal.

[johnnygreen]

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

It's possible that Cleveland was possibly a Kyrie Irving injury away (2015 Finals) from winning three titles in a row. Golden State may not have the same draw to Kevin Durant if they had lost two years in a row to Cleveland. Maybe Durant would have chosen Boston or another team instead.

Regardless of the what-if scenario above, Cleveland has still been the first or second best team in the NBA, for the past 3 seasons. There is no way Cleveland would have lost to San Antonio (who have been limping and showing their age during the playoffs), Houston (who have a choking ball hog), LA Clippers (who are lucky to even make it to the second round), or Oklahoma City (who struggled with elite competition). As for the other west teams to make the playoffs over the past 3 years, I don't think their even worth mentioning. BTW, for the past two seasons, the 8th seed in the east has either had the same record or better than the 8th seed in the west.

[indeedproceed]

[PhoSita]

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

It's possible that Cleveland was possibly a Kyrie Irving injury away (2015 Finals) from winning three titles in a row. Golden State may not have the same draw to Kevin Durant if they had lost two years in a row to Cleveland. Maybe Durant would have chosen Boston or another team instead.

Regardless of the what-if scenario above, Cleveland has still been the first or second best team in the NBA, for the past 3 seasons. There is no way Cleveland would have lost to San Antonio (who have been limping and showing their age during the playoffs), Houston (who have a choking ball hog), LA Clippers (who are lucky to even make it to the second round), or Oklahoma City (who struggled with elite competition). As for the other west teams to make the playoffs over the past 3 years, I don't think their even worth mentioning. BTW, for the past two seasons, the 8th seed in the east has either had the same record or better than the 8th seed in the west.

The thing is, all we can do is speculate as to whether Cleveland would have made the Finals every year if they had faced a high quality opponent before the Finals, because they never did.

When you compare the playoff teams in each conference, you really need to look at their point differential and take into account their strength of schedule.

In many years, it's much harder to get to. 500 in the West than it is in the East.

[Ory]

A 40 win eastern conference makes the playoffs.
A 46 win western conference team misses the playoffs.
Western conference team gets better draft pick, improves.
Eastern conference team gets worse pick, stuck in mediocrity.

If we want to move toward parity this is a good proposal.

If they wanted to increase parity they could hold the lottery based on record without regard to who makes the playoffs. That way making the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed in the weaker conference at the moment won't exclude you from the lottery while being the 9th or 10th team in the stronger conference doesn't get you into the lottery.

Wouldn't have thought of this without your post so have a Tommy Point.

[PhoSita]

A 40 win eastern conference makes the playoffs.
A 46 win western conference team misses the playoffs.
Western conference team gets better draft pick, improves.
Eastern conference team gets worse pick, stuck in mediocrity.

If we want to move toward parity this is a good proposal.

If they wanted to increase parity they could hold the lottery based on record without regard to who makes the playoffs. That way making the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed in the weaker conference at the moment won't exclude you from the lottery while being the 9th or 10th team in the stronger conference doesn't get you into the lottery.

Wouldn't have thought of this without your post so have a Tommy Point.

Or, you know, crazy thought, we could make it so the best teams are in the playoffs and the weaker teams stay at home in April.

[Ory]

A 40 win eastern conference makes the playoffs.
A 46 win western conference team misses the playoffs.
Western conference team gets better draft pick, improves.
Eastern conference team gets worse pick, stuck in mediocrity.

If we want to move toward parity this is a good proposal.

If they wanted to increase parity they could hold the lottery based on record without regard to who makes the playoffs. That way making the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed in the weaker conference at the moment won't exclude you from the lottery while being the 9th or 10th team in the stronger conference doesn't get you into the lottery.

Wouldn't have thought of this without your post so have a Tommy Point.

Or, you know, crazy thought, we could make it so the best teams are in the playoffs and the weaker teams stay at home in April.

Actually we can't, only the owners can and they need a 75% super-majority. If 8 teams say no to a proposed change it doesn't happen. I'd personally like to see the best teams make the playoffs and for the schedule to be more balanced, but I think the probability of convincing 23 owners that it is to their advantage is so low as to not be worth considering.

[bopna]

Cmon guys...do we really want to see the Fakers in a playoff series other than the Finals...It will be the biggest travesty in the league if that happens.

Say no to these stupid propositions...there will always be one conference better for acertain period...in the 90s the East dominated due to the Bulls and we never complained.
The 60s were all Celtics and that has been now a part of the leagues glorious past.

Just let it as it is...the nostalgia and history will be tainted if we start this doing this stupid idea.

[Moranis]

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

It's possible that Cleveland was possibly a Kyrie Irving injury away (2015 Finals) from winning three titles in a row. Golden State may not have the same draw to Kevin Durant if they had lost two years in a row to Cleveland. Maybe Durant would have chosen Boston or another team instead.

Regardless of the what-if scenario above, Cleveland has still been the first or second best team in the NBA, for the past 3 seasons. There is no way Cleveland would have lost to San Antonio (who have been limping and showing their age during the playoffs), Houston (who have a choking ball hog), LA Clippers (who are lucky to even make it to the second round), or Oklahoma City (who struggled with elite competition). As for the other west teams to make the playoffs over the past 3 years, I don't think their even worth mentioning. BTW, for the past two seasons, the 8th seed in the east has either had the same record or better than the 8th seed in the west.

The thing is, all we can do is speculate as to whether Cleveland would have made the Finals every year if they had faced a high quality opponent before the Finals, because they never did.

When you compare the playoff teams in each conference, you really need to look at their point differential and take into account their strength of schedule.

In many years, it's much harder to get to. 500 in the West than it is in the East.

to be fair the Cavs have played on the ECF by SRS rank 4, 6, and 8.  The Warriors played 7, 3, 2 over the same period. The Cavs actually played a better team by SRS in the semis last year (yes Toronto was better than Boston). Clearly the West has been better but it isn't like the Cavs played a bunch of scrubs

[celticsclay]

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

It's possible that Cleveland was possibly a Kyrie Irving injury away (2015 Finals) from winning three titles in a row. Golden State may not have the same draw to Kevin Durant if they had lost two years in a row to Cleveland. Maybe Durant would have chosen Boston or another team instead.

Regardless of the what-if scenario above, Cleveland has still been the first or second best team in the NBA, for the past 3 seasons. There is no way Cleveland would have lost to San Antonio (who have been limping and showing their age during the playoffs), Houston (who have a choking ball hog), LA Clippers (who are lucky to even make it to the second round), or Oklahoma City (who struggled with elite competition). As for the other west teams to make the playoffs over the past 3 years, I don't think their even worth mentioning. BTW, for the past two seasons, the 8th seed in the east has either had the same record or better than the 8th seed in the west.

The thing is, all we can do is speculate as to whether Cleveland would have made the Finals every year if they had faced a high quality opponent before the Finals, because they never did.

When you compare the playoff teams in each conference, you really need to look at their point differential and take into account their strength of schedule.

In many years, it's much harder to get to. 500 in the West than it is in the East.

I also agree with this. This isn't just theories either the stats bare this out. If we had these alignments the last 3 years I am pretty sure a math based model wouldn't have the cavs making even one finals.

[Moranis]

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

It's possible that Cleveland was possibly a Kyrie Irving injury away (2015 Finals) from winning three titles in a row. Golden State may not have the same draw to Kevin Durant if they had lost two years in a row to Cleveland. Maybe Durant would have chosen Boston or another team instead.

Regardless of the what-if scenario above, Cleveland has still been the first or second best team in the NBA, for the past 3 seasons. There is no way Cleveland would have lost to San Antonio (who have been limping and showing their age during the playoffs), Houston (who have a choking ball hog), LA Clippers (who are lucky to even make it to the second round), or Oklahoma City (who struggled with elite competition). As for the other west teams to make the playoffs over the past 3 years, I don't think their even worth mentioning. BTW, for the past two seasons, the 8th seed in the east has either had the same record or better than the 8th seed in the west.

The thing is, all we can do is speculate as to whether Cleveland would have made the Finals every year if they had faced a high quality opponent before the Finals, because they never did.

When you compare the playoff teams in each conference, you really need to look at their point differential and take into account their strength of schedule.

In many years, it's much harder to get to. 500 in the West than it is in the East.

I also agree with this. This isn't just theories either the stats bare this out. If we had these alignments the last 3 years I am pretty sure a math based model wouldn't have the cavs making even one finals.

of course the math wouldn't yield that because the Cavs totally disregard the regular season and thus wouldn't have the math behind them

[KGs Knee]

Cmon guys...do we really want to see the Fakers in a playoff series other than the Finals...It will be the biggest travesty in the league if that happens.

Say no to these stupid propositions...there will always be one conference better for acertain period...in the 90s the East dominated due to the Bulls and we never complained.
The 60s were all Celtics and that has been now a part of the leagues glorious past.

Just let it as it is...the nostalgia and history will be tainted if we start this doing this stupid idea.

TP!

I said exactly the same thing back on page 1. Apparently there are whole lot of Celtics fans these days with no sense of history and are willing to support such a dumb idea.

Sad state of affairs if you ask me. Hopefully this proposal is thrown in the dumpster, where it belongs.

[PhoSita]

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

It's possible that Cleveland was possibly a Kyrie Irving injury away (2015 Finals) from winning three titles in a row. Golden State may not have the same draw to Kevin Durant if they had lost two years in a row to Cleveland. Maybe Durant would have chosen Boston or another team instead.

Regardless of the what-if scenario above, Cleveland has still been the first or second best team in the NBA, for the past 3 seasons. There is no way Cleveland would have lost to San Antonio (who have been limping and showing their age during the playoffs), Houston (who have a choking ball hog), LA Clippers (who are lucky to even make it to the second round), or Oklahoma City (who struggled with elite competition). As for the other west teams to make the playoffs over the past 3 years, I don't think their even worth mentioning. BTW, for the past two seasons, the 8th seed in the east has either had the same record or better than the 8th seed in the west.

The thing is, all we can do is speculate as to whether Cleveland would have made the Finals every year if they had faced a high quality opponent before the Finals, because they never did.

When you compare the playoff teams in each conference, you really need to look at their point differential and take into account their strength of schedule.

In many years, it's much harder to get to. 500 in the West than it is in the East.

to be fair the Cavs have played on the ECF by SRS rank 4, 6, and 8.  The Warriors played 7, 3, 2 over the same period. The Cavs actually played a better team by SRS in the semis last year (yes Toronto was better than Boston). Clearly the West has been better but it isn't like the Cavs played a bunch of scrubs

You're right that the Cavs faced some decent teams, but I think it's also reasonable to assume those teams would have been on the lower half of the playoff picture if they'd been in the Western Conference.

While some of those teams out West had flaws, too, any of them would have posed a bigger challenge to the Cavs than teams like the Raps, Wiz, Hawks, etc.

I mean, I think we all agree that in the playoffs who your best player is matters more, and just look at the players LeBron never had to get past in the last 5 years in order to make the Finals:

Kawhi, Westbrook/Durant, Paul, Harden, Conley/Gasol etc.


Now, perhaps LeBron would have beaten them anyway.  That's certainly a possibility.  But we never got to find out, because instead of squaring off with strong opponents like that, he was able to bulldoze teams led by Kyle Lowry, Al Horford, and young Paul George.


LeBron is an All-Time Great and that is why his team has made the Finals year after year.  I would never argue otherwise.  But I think the playoffs would be a heck of a lot more interesting if there was a possibility he might be seriously challenged before making the Finals even when the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th best teams in the league are all in the opposite conference.

[Donoghus]

Seems like an unnecessary move for the league to make.  They just trying to placate some Western owners & fanbases throwing hissy fits?  Is it really broke?  I don't think so.

I like the idea of keeping the conferences intact due simply to the historical aspect of them.