This would be the playoff bracket as of today regardless of division or conference. (1) Indiana vs. (16) Denver (8) Golden State vs. (9) Phoenix (4) San Antonio vs. (13) Atlanta (5) Portland vs. (12) Toronto (2) OKC vs. (15) Chicago (7) LA Clippers (10) Dallas (3) Miami vs. (14) Washington (6) Houston vs. (11) Memphis Only 6 Eastern conference teams. If the East had to play more games against the West it would be even worse. NBA should seriously consider whether the current system is the best one. It's pretty bad when 26-24 gets you a 3 seed in the East. That record is good for 10th best in the West.
You could 'smooth' the records by calculating each teams winning % against either conference, then attributing 1/2 of that towards a 'current record'. For example, Toronto would drop to 24-26 under that ranking system, and Minnesota would climb to 25-26, putting them in the frame. New Orleans would also climb to 25-24, putting them also ahead of Toronto. None of the East teams have stronger records against the West than the East, so they'd all drop, and so you'd have 12 West teams, and just 4 East.
Like the idea but you might as well wipe out the conferences then. And ouch, that first round matchup with the Grizzlies is AWFUL for the Rockets.
I wish they would drop conferences. It's pointless to have teams be awarded for mediocrity, give me a playoff system where the best teams decide the champion.
And there could still be divisions with the division champs and 2 wild cards getting the top 8 seeds and home court advantage in the first round.
We were 1 point away from a 3-1 record against Memphis. I think people put too much stock in the fact that we lost the last 2. Sure they got Gasol back, but don't you think Asik would have helped us?
Instead of East and West. How about North and South conferences. Oh wait, that would be a horrible idea. I think east and west is fine. Without drastic changes, how about 2 playoff teams from either conferences advance onto the championship stage. Base on season record: Higher West vs Lower East Lower West vs Higher East
tv ratings for just western conference 1st round matchups would be much better than this 16 team bracket.
You are the most cynical poster on the board. The Rockets would at least make it a 6 game series (assuming no Asik). With Asik it's a 7 game series and the Rockets win game 7 at home. But after a 7 game series with the Grizz I don't expect the Rockets have anything left for the round afterwards.
What would rounds 2 and 3 be called? Between the First round and the Finals, would it be the NBA quarter/semifinals?
I have an interesting idea. If you get rid of the conferences, you could lengthen the season to 87 games, and have each team play everyone 3 times. That way, head to head matchups are the only tiebreaker, and no team's record is inflated due to them playing teams primarily from a weaker conference. This system will create a level playing field so you could truly have the league-wide playoff.
