The gap between teams in the East and West is huge. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/jack_mccallum/news/2002/01/22/nba_insider/ Now that the NBA is moving to every series being a 7 game playoff series in 2003, perhaps they should also change to a cross conference format. 1 (west) vs 8 (east) 2 (west) vs 7 (east) etc. 8 (west) vs 1 (east) This way we might have the two best teams in basketball meeting in the finals rather than the Western Finals. Thots?
If they really want to change things up (and get maximum TV money)...set up the playoffs to be similar to the NCAA tournament. Have all the teams that would normally not qualify for the playoffs play some sort of tournament that would result in two final teams. These two teams would then play the 7th and 8th seeds to determine the last two teams to make the playoffs. Then run the playoffs as usual, going back to the five game first round series. Of course, the regular season would need to be shortened a bit, but more playoff type games would mean more cash for the owners and more basketball that actually meant something. It would give teams like the Bulls, Nuggets and Rockets a chance. I know it'll never happen, but at least it would keep everyone interested until the end.
I think the discrepancy between East and West is less this year than it was last year. And it'll probably continue to get better moving forward. I don't think anyone would want a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
