Just because the East has won the Finals doesn't mean they are the stronger conference. Let alone how much tougher it is to get into the playoffs in the West. If you did the West 1st vs East 8th and so on then I bet it would be 5-3 West winning.
How about 1-2-2-1, and if game 7 is needed, play at a neutral site. That would eliminate HCA all together.
2-3-2 is the best format for the finals...I do think they need to lessen the first round of the playoffs
They can easily shorten the 1st round by reducing the days off between games but the NBA wants to maximize TV revenue instead. This is one of my biggest peeves about the league.
4-3. I don't think 2-3-2 strengthened or weakened HCA. I think it increases volatility in results and puts more value in victories early in the series. If the home team wins the first 2 games, they have a better advantage in a 2-3-2 system than they would in a 2-2-1-1-1 system. But, if they drop a game, it hurts more too. 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 would have the least volatility and allow the better team to win the most often. The more you group games together the more likely it becomes that the worse team gets lucky and steals the championship.
it was all about the distance to travel between cities and games. in these days of modern private team jets and all the amenities and traveling personnel that go along with it, the 2-3-2 format is unnecessary. the last three Finals had Miami going no farther than San Antonio as far as East/West goes...
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>McHale, who played in last 2-2-1-1-1 Finals, likes 2-3-2, depending on teams in it (such as LA-Bos.) Said if Chi-Memphis could take a bus.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/statuses/384728268248588288">September 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sensible for competition. Weaker ending for fans who supported the team previous 100 games. (yes I know super bowl, college world series and every tennis match is in neutral setting.) but Rockets winning titles in Missouri instead of at the Summit takes off some endermeant. I think if youre the home team in game 7 your season success can earn you the right to play on your home floor. Or do like baseball, the allstar game decides home court...variance!
The whole point is, the better team might not even has the home court in game 7. Winning game 7 in the opponent's home court is not any better than winning it at a neutral site. furthermore, even if the series doesn't go 7 games, the probability of winning the series at your home court is just about 50%.
McHale and Harden weigh in on format change... <iframe src="http://player.theplatform.com/p/zT2_HC/iEazkwCwmKPM/embed/select/w9q8Rlth6kv_?params=zone%3Dcsnvideo&autoPlay=false" width="480" height="270" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" allowfullscreen>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>
