The talk of abolishing conferences for the playoffs has gained steam over the past few years. Fans are tired of not seeing the best teams play in the finals. Unfortunately, the biggest drawback is the amount of travel required if we were to stick to the current format. So it needs to change. Below is my idea for a different playoff format. The benefits are below: - The two teams playing the best basketball at that moment are guaranteed to see each other. - Each and every superstar will play each other. Every team will play each other. - Regular season success will actually be important. Nay, CRUCIAL. - Resting players, tanking for seeding will work against you, not in your favour. - Momentum and chemistry will be as important as ever. - Division winners, conference winners and winning streaks will be rewarded So here’s how it works: The regular season is played as is. The only difference is teams are playing for points. Win = 1 Pt 10 Game Winning Streak = 1 pt Division Banner = 1pt Conference Banner = 1pt League’s best record = 1pt Your top 16 points earners are your playoff teams, but this is no longer a reset. Your playoff position will depend on your points total. The key is you want as high a points total as possible going into the playoffs because this determines your starting point. The playoffs begin but now each win will reward the winning team with 2 points, but each loss will dock a team a single point. Each team will play each other twice, once at home and once on the road. The top two points earners are your finalists Q’s and A’s: The top seeded team already faces the lower seeded team in each bracket, along with Home Court Advantage? This isn’t enough? Well, no. What sparked this concept was the 2017-18 season with James Harden and the Rockets potentially facing the eighth seeded spurs in the playoffs. The Spurs had missed Kawhi Leonard for most of the season, leading to their lower than expected seeding. With Leonard, the Spurs were a title contender. Houston having to play them in round 1 after that successful a regular season was unfair and threatened to undermine everything that was build in the regular season. Under this system, there’s no benefit for a team trying to manipulate their position. They have to play every team regardless but the cushion earned from regular season success is finally a factor. What about playoff/conference rivalries? They won’t go anywhere. Teams will always have history with other teams, and new rivalries can be built. With current scheduling and this playoff format, there’s potential for cross-conference rivalries with how often teams will see each other. Also, factor in the fan trash talk if a championship winning team went winless in the playoffs against a team they didn’t see in the finals. The potential for whatifs becomes stronger. Will the Finals MVP even matter? It will matter even more. The playoffs will be a season amongst themselves, and every team will play the same amount of games. A player can build his case over a proper sample size and not just one or two series where matchups may be in their favour. The playoff MVP will mean something and in turn, will increase the significance of the regular season MVP as well. Case Study: The 2017/2018 NBA Season: Playoff Teams: 1. Houston Rockets: 71pts [65pts (+6 Bonus Points)] 2. Toronto Raptors: 62pts [59pts (+3 Bonus Points)] 3. Golden State Warriors: 60pts [58pts (+2 Bonus Point)] 4. Boston Celtics: 56pts [55pts (+1 Bonus Points)] 5. Philadelphia 76ers: 53pts [52pts (+1 Bonus Points)] 6. Cleveland Cavaliers: 52pts [50pts (+2 Bonus Point)] 7. Portland Trailblazers: 51pts [49pts (+2 Bonus Point)] 8. New Orleans Pelicans: 49pts [48pts (+1 Bonus Point)] 9. Utah Jazz: 49pts [48pts (+1 Bonus Points)] 10. Indiana Pacers: 48pts 11. OKC Thunder: 48pts 12. San Antonio Spurs: 47pts 13. Minnesota Timberwolves: 47pts 14. Miami Heat: 45pts [44pts (+1 Bonus Point)] 15. Milwaukee Bucks: 44pts 16. Washington Wizards: 43pts You will notice that the Rockets were able to increase their lead by taking the League's best record,Western Conference and Divisional Crowns along with stringing together three separate 10+ game winning streaks. This type of success should be rewarded. Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Portland, Toronto, Golden State, New Orleans and Utah were also able to gain points via winning streaks. RECORD SIMULATION w/ UPDATED TOTALS: 1. 98PTS Rockets: 20-12 2. 93PTS Golden State: 21-11 3. 80PTS Raptors: 18-14 4. 74PTS Cavs: 18-14 5. 70PTS Portland: 17-15 6. 72PTS Celtics: 16-16 7. 69PTS 76ers: 16-16 8. 64PTS Heat: 17-15 9. 65PTS Jazz: 16-16 10. 63PTS Spurs: 16-16 11. 60PTS Minnesota: 15-17 12. 58PTS Thunder: 14-18 13. 59 PTS Pelicans: 14-18 14. 58PTS Bucks: 14-18 15. 55PTS Pacers: 13-19 16. 44PTS Wizards: 11-21 YOUR FINALISTS: GOLDEN STATE v HOUSTON. Houston has home court advantage in a best of seven series. ALTNERNATIVE SCENARIOS: Had Kyrie been healthy for Boston in the playoffs and led them to a 22-10 Record? 90PTS. Potentially enough to reach the finals. Had Chris Paul been injured, with the Rockets only winning 17 games? 90PTS. Potentially enough to still make the finals. A reward for their regular season success. This format allows for all of the drama, matchups and tension of the regular playoffs without disregarding the work put in during the regular season. We get all of the cross-conference superstar matchups without the strenuous back and forth travel. Lebron v Harden, KD vs Giannis, Davis vs Embiid. All possible without waiting on the chance to see if they will meet in the finals. ______ Cheers.
