Let's keep the divisions and conferences, but unbalance the schedules so they actually mean something, like in football and baseball. Play division opponents 8 times each, non-division conference opponents 4 times each, and play one game against 10 of the 15 non-conference opponents. Imagine how much more important rivalries with Dallas and San Antonio would be if you played them each 8 times a season. Oh, and reduce the number of playoff teams while they are at it. There can be the division winners and three WC teams from each conference, then having an NFL like playoffs where the top 2 division winners get a first round bye.
Whoops - forgot to finish. Didn't the NFC in football win something like 10 straight Superbowls through the late 90's? Now the AFC has been the powerhouse for a while. Things like this happen. It's just fluky, but life. The reasons there are divisions and conferences is to reduce travel and create rivalries. Fighting for a division with other nearby teams creates better rivalries. Playing local teams more often helps reduce travel and create more games in the local time zone. Having the east coast and west coast teams play each other more often would be a logistical nightmare.
i would like to see the conferences kept the way they are while eliminating the divisions. instead of only playing division rivals 4 times, i think each team should play every conference rival 4 times. play every out of conference opponent twice. why? 1. the season gets extended by 4 games = nba likes it. 2. the increase of in-conference play will help balance out the winning % around the league. (this doesn't actually make the east better but at least they will look better by playing against each other more often). then for playoff time: 1. top 16 teams make it. seed teams 1-16 by record. this way, teams with inlfated records form the east (pistons, heat) will not be able to make it to the finals by beating up scrub teams in the east. 2. traveling should not be a problem, like some have mentioned. if an eastern conference team can play a western conference team in the finals with no problem, then they can do it in the first 3 rounds as well. i would also like to add that on average, they travel more during a week of regular season play.
