So when is the conference system going to be abolished?

PHX is currently out of the playoffs along with MIN, that's crazy. PHX would be the 3rd best team in the East, MIN would be fighting for a 4 or 5th seed.

 

That's actually a really interesting idea.....might like that

 

The conference system is a joke.

The Eastern Conference contenders (Miami and Indiana) have such a huge advantage. Just think about it.

Come playoff time, they can streamroll through their first and second rounds (4-0 or 4-1) playing half arsed limited minutes,saving their legs, exhaustion, injuries until the ECF. In the West every round is going to be a dog fight with 6 to 7 games at least, heavy minutes etc.

Who ever comes out of the West is already physically bruised after 3 tough rounds while in the East it is just one tough round in the finals.

Likewise in the regular season, a lot of the Western Conference match ups are real fights and you have to show up almost every night while in the East, there are several games for Miami, Indiana when you show up and it's a guaranteed win.

 

I really like phasing out tankers. Go by best record for playoff seedlings regardless of conference. Have teams give up playoff eligibility at beginning of season if they plan on tanking - put their chips on the table where the fans can see. Then they can be eligible for the suck lottery. Remaining teams draft after lottery based on their record starting with worst record first.