That format would only be fair if all the teams in the NBA played the same schedules. The Decent Eastern teams would have an advantage to the west because they play the weak weak east teams double the amount we play them. The west would beat itself up and the couple good east teams would roll to homecourt advantage. I mean, do you think Boston would still have this many wins if they played in the west?
If the Hornets finish 1st, Jazz 4th, and Rockets 5th, that is a dream scenario. That would mean we would only have to beat Utah and NO to get to the conference finals. There is not an easier road.
Dream scenario has the Nuggets at #8 taking down the Hornets, so we have home court in the second round. Even better is us at #1 drawing the Nuggets then Jazz. Then we have home court in the WCF over whoever still stands.
I know this sounds stupid and ridiculous....but I think the Rockets (and even T-Mac) would've made past the first round...if the 1st rounder was shorter like it was before 2004. Imagine this way, now I believe it is pretty difficult for an inferior team to go deeper into the playoffs because of the amount of games you have to play. In 5 or even 3 game series. Look at last years roster, outside of the two superstars we were pretty lacking....and offense wasn't greatest in the world... pretty much if you play great for 2-3 games you win the series. That means if Yao or T-Mac have or two outstanding games....then they pretty much beat the Jazz or Mavs. But since those two had little more talent on the bench, is primary reason why they were able to come back against us....and even why T-Mac and Kobe (w/o Shaq) have yet to make it pass the second round. I really believe that superstar were more effective in those type series, because really rest of team could be average to awful and still get past other teams...I think now more than ever especially in West....you can't sneak up on anyone or snake bite somebody......
You'd have to set up a balanced schedule, doing away with any soft of Conference schedule or record. Then you can award 6 automatic playoff berths to each Division winner and to the top 10 winningest other teams. Seed them 1-16 based completely on record. Each team plays 16 Division games (4 games against 4 Division opponents). Each team plays 25 non-division opponents home and away for an additional 50 games. That's 66 games, so each team would need to play 16 more for an 82 game schedule. There are 5 other divisions, and 5 does not go cleanly into 16. That means each team plays a non-division game against 3 teams from each other division, and a 4th game against one other team from 1 additional division. That would have to be set on a 5 year schedule to insure that games were evened out between divisions. Here's a sample for just the Southwest Division on a 5 year schedule. Position standing the year before determines the schedule. The bonus 4th game is in <I>italics</I>. To completely balance the schedule, you'd repeat the 5 year cycle but switch home with away and vice versa for a 10 year cycle. <B>Year 1</B> <B>1st Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home), <I>5th (Away)</I> Central - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) Northwest - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) <B>2nd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), <I>3rd (Home)</I> Central - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Southeast - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) Northwest - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Pacific - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) <B>3rd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home), <I>4th (Away)</I> Central - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) Northwest - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) <B>4th Place</B> Atlantic - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away), <I>1st (Away)</I> Central - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Southeast - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Northwest - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Pacific - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) <B>5th Place</B> Atlantic - 3rd (Away), 4th (Away), 5th (Home), <I>2nd (Home)</I> Central - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Northwest - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) <B>Year 2</B> <B>1st Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Central - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home), <I>5th (Home)</I> Southeast - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Northwest - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) Pacific - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) <B>2nd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Central - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), <I>3rd (Away)</I> Southeast - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Northwest - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) <B>3rd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Central - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home), <I>4th (Home)</I> Southeast - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Northwest - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) Pacific - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) <B>4th Place</B> Atlantic - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Central - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away), <I>1st (Home)</I> Southeast - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Northwest - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) <B>5th Place</B> Atlantic - 3rd (Home), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Central - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home), <I>2nd (Away)</I> Southeast - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Northwest - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Pacific - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) <B>Year 3</B> <B>1st Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) Central - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home), <I>5th (Away)</I> Northwest - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) <B>2nd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) Central - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Southeast - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), <I>3rd (Home)</I> Northwest - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Pacific - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) <B>3rd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) Central - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home), <I>4th (Away)</I> Northwest - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) <B>4th Place</B> Atlantic - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Central - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Southeast - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away), <I>1st (Away)</I> Northwest - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Pacific - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) <B>5th Place</B> Atlantic - 3rd (Away), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Central - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home), <I>2nd (Home)</I> Northwest - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) <B>Year 4</B> <B>1st Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Central - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) Southeast - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Northwest - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home), <I>5th (Home)</I> Pacific - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) <B>2nd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Central - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Northwest - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), <I>3rd (Away)</I> Pacific - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) <B>3rd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Central - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) Southeast - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Northwest - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home), <I>4th (Home)</I> Pacific - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) <B>4th Place</B> Atlantic - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Central - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Northwest - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away), <I>1st (Home)</I> Pacific - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) <B>5th Place</B> Atlantic - 3rd (Home), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Central - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away) Southeast - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Northwest - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home), 5th (Home), <I>2nd (Away)</I> Pacific - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) <B>Year 5</B> <B>1st Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) Central - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home) Northwest - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 3rd (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 3rd (Home), <I>5th (Away)</I> <B>2nd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) Central - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Southeast - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away) Northwest - 1st (Home), 2nd (Away), 4th (Home) Pacific - 1st (Away), 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), <I>3rd (Home)</I> <B>3rd Place</B> Atlantic - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) Central - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home) Northwest - 1st (Away), 3rd (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 1st (Home), 3rd (Away), 5th (Home), <I>4th (Away)</I> <B>4th Place</B> Atlantic - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Central - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Southeast - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Northwest - 2nd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Pacific - 2nd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away), <I>1st (Away)</I> <B>5th Place</B> Atlantic - 3rd (Away), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Central - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Southeast - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home) Northwest - 3rd (Away), 4th (Home), 5th (Away) Pacific - 3rd (Home), 4th (Away), 5th (Home), <I>2nd (Home)</I>
Wow. We are 1/2 game out of first place in the Western Conference, and that is good for 5th seed. Amazing. LA and Utah now have better seeding than us solely based on leading their respective divisions. Although we are admittedly just barely above LA. Still, wow. Great season.
You really thought that out well, I really appreciate the statistics and formatting you do on this board.
Seedings really don't matter. Hell Utah can have 46 wins and still be top 4. But the important thing is playing our cards right. I think Tanking may be necessary this year, but of course if Nuggets somehow end up 8th, I'll want the rockets to fight their heads off for that spot. Also, I don't think the spurs want to face nuggets this year. It just seems like the nuggets are really really prepared for spurs everytime they play. And yes, 5th place sounds pretty good because I think our refreshed and fixed up line up would match pretty well against Utah. Yao wasn't a force against boozer because 1. He was too slow, Boozer was too fast 2. Because Yao was slow, he cannot recover quickly if Boozer put a fake, which he is really good at 3. Boozer is also quite a decent close range shooter. His footwork + his speed allows him to shoot without fear of Yao blocking him. Last years game, I saw a lot of fadeaways from boozer, and Yao could not move quick enough to block him. Chuck seems like a good matchup. I remember he drew quite a few offensive fouls off boozer. Also, Scola has amazing footwork either, and the Jazz center isn't exactly that tall and that strong, so Scola probably has a clear advantage. But my main fear is probably deron williams. He is a very strong and fast point guard. Unless rafer steps up big time, williams could very well dominate like Chris Paul. And somehow, if this does happen, I think brooks will come in and completely shut down deron. AK47 isn't the rockets biggest fear. T-mac dunked on the guy like 3 times last year.
we've been #4 and 5 all year when looking at only away wins vs home losses. funny how the Riley Record follows seed position better than looking at all w/ls.
Thanks. A balanced schedule and a 16-team seeded playoffs irrespective of division winners has long been a hope of mine. Especially with Stern wanting to add a 5-team European division, it's just a matter of time before he <B>has</B> to implement some sort of system like this. Then it becomes really easy to put in place: 16 division games + 60 non-division games (home and away against 30 other teams). That's 76 games, leaving 6 more to play with 6 other divisions. You'd just rotate on a 2 year basis. Year 1, each division winner plays half the other division winners on the road and the other half at home. Repeat for 2nd - 5th place. Year 2, switch who hosts each game (home becomes away, away becomes home). 7 division winners go to the playoffs and other 9 winningest teams go to the playoffs. Seed them 1-16 by record. Very likely the first few years, you'd have a European team with a seed of 14 or lower. Also with a European team in the playoffs, you'd have to go to a 2-3-2 format. Usually Stern is forward thinking with this stuff but not in this case. I really hope a third of the league owners (Western Conference Playoff contenders) unload on him this year. My only concern is that there's some sort of TV deal that they can't overturn. TNT has exclusive rights to the WCF. The WCF disappears if they go to 16 seeded playoff series.
i'm tired of these division leading teams with inferior records ahead of better teams in the standings. it should be the top 8 teams period. 2 teams are ahead of the rox right now just because of that bs.
Then that would rid of divisions period. There would be no point in winning your division other than bragging rights.
Who cares about division championships? It would be one thing if you played your division more often, like they do in the NFL and MLB. But, you don't. Everybody in the western conference basically plays the same schedule. If that's the case, they might as well do away with divisions. All they're doing is messing up the playoff seeding, and providing a nice tidy way of showing the standings on espn.com (and hell, click on standings right now on espn.com and they don't even show the divisions).
We do play every team in our division 4 times. We play some Western conference teams 4 times as well, but quite a few others only 3 times. We play Eastern conference teams 2 times. I'm all right with Division crowns and rivalries, but they should not be rewarded with a top seed just because they won their division. Division crowns should be good for an automatic berth just like scrub conferences in the NCAA, but they do not guarantee a high seed or home court. It's quite possible the three best records in the West could be from the Southwest division, and just imagine if the Mavericks were playing better. We could easily have the fourth best record in the West with the #6 seed in the next few years.
I think the divisions are set up so that NBA teams have easier travel schedules, less cross-country flights, and that sort of thing that players and staff care for that fans don't give a monkey's shet about.
That's somewhat true, but I do think fans care about division games. Are you telling me Rocket fans don't go particularly rabid when we play the Spurs or Mavs? The Grizzlies and the Hornets don't quite garner such frenzy, but the Jazz used to rile us a lot more when we were fighting them for the division lead. Back before expansion, we used to play division teams 6 times a year.
