The title explains it all. I think we've been trapped in the best division in basketball for at least the last decade. Think about the teams we've had to constantly compete against: The Never Have Less Than 50 Wins in a Season Spurs The million renditions of the Dirk-Led Mavs The Hubie Brown/Pau Gasol Grizzlies.. then the super defensive Grizzlies The Chris Paul Hornets... now the potentially next great Anthony Davis lead Pelicans. Do the Rockets ever get a break?
The Southwest division is the toughest by far. 2 top 4 seeds in the Spurs and Rockets 2 bottom 4 seeds in Memphis and Dallas 4/5 teams are on track for 48+ games. 4/5 teams would be the 3rd seed or better in the East. And NOH would be tied for the 9th seed in the East with the Knicks. Depending on how the 8th spot shakes out, half the play offs could be teams from the SouthWest division, with 3 of those teams in Texas. There's no division that's remotely as difficult.
Does it really matter when NBA teams don't play their division opponents any more so than the other divisions in the west? Tougher conference? Yes. Tougher division? Doesn't matter... NBA divisions don't matter.
I think a good idea would be to reduce the season by 2 games so we could use this format: - Play every team in the other conference two times (30 games) - Play every team in your conference but another division three times (30 games) - Play every team in your division five times (20 games)
It matters in that the #1 team in the division automatically gets a top 4 seed. When the Spurs are in your division, you're talking 15 guaranteed years without a division title.
If they were in another division, they'd still be the #1 seed. Again, divisions (and division "titles") don't matter.
You play every team in your division 4x...every other west conference at least 3x...and Eastern conference only 2x. But yeah, the divisions don't even matter. In MLB and NFL being a tough division could mean no playoff...in the NBA it just doesn't matter. Everyone in the division could make the playoffs..
The Texas Triangle... Which state has produced more Championship Titles over the last 20 years? Don't Mess Texas!
Just add up division wins. You can do that by yourself. You are a big boy. You do not need other peoples opinion to come to the correct conclusion.
POR is NW. Had me thinking for a second.. lol Pacific-wise.... Lakers will rise soon. They're never a non-factor too long.
I rather move the teams into tiers instead of divisions. 5 teams make one tier. Next top 5 makes another all the way down to the bottom. The tiers get changed every season depending on seasonal records
Well, if you need some figures to show how much difference exist between divisions, here are my calculations (up to Game75 for teams) for the relative Rank Values of each team: Atlantic (Average of teams - : 1223) TOR - 1312 BKN - 1293 NYK - 1220 BOS - 1186 PHI - 1106 Central (Avg of teams: 1244) IND - 1333 CHI - 1286 CLE - 1233 DET - 1220 MIL - 1146 Southeast (Avg of teams: 1268) MIA - 1364 WAS - 1287 CHA - 1268 ATL - 1239 ORL - 1180 Northwest (Avg of teams: 1288) OKC - 1382 POR - 1329 MIN - 1279 DEN - 1252 UTA - 1197 Pacific (Avg of teams: 1283) LAC - 1358 GSW - 1336 PHX - 1303 SAC - 1214 LAL - 1204 Southwest (Avg of teams: 1320) SAS - 1398 HOU - 1343 DAL - 1312 MEM - 1317 NOP - 1230 So yeah, the Southwest (1320) is way above the other divisions.
