NBA approves new playoff seeding

[BAMAPHIN 22]

The NBA is changing the way teams are seeded in the postseason, looking to avoid the controversy that surrounded last season's playoffs.

Under the change, the top four seeds -- the three division winners and the second-place team with the best record -- will be seeded according to their win-loss total, guaranteeing that the top two teams in each conference can't meet until the conference finals, the league announced Wednesday.

"I think it's a tweak, is what I'd call it, and it's probably a good one," said Jerry Colangelo, the former chairman of the league's Board of Governors.

"Ultimately you want your best teams, the teams who have worked all season to put themselves in a position based on their records, to be seeded accordingly."

The NBA had given the top three seeds to division winners regardless of record, meaning a second-place team could not do better than the No. 4 seed, even if it had a better record than a division champion.

That rule came under fire last season when division rivals San Antonio and Dallas met in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, even though the second-place Mavericks had a far better record than division champions Phoenix or Denver.

Dallas knocked off the first-place Spurs in a thrilling matchup of 60-game winners, capturing Game 7 on the road in overtime.

"It may have been mentioned in the past, but this year just because of the Dallas-San Antonio situation it kind of brought it to a head," Colangelo said.

"So it was discussed in the second half of the year."

The Board of Governors also voted to expand the postseason rosters to 15, instead of 13, with 12 players active for each game. That duplicates the rule used in the regular season.

The NBA champion Miami Heat were among those that criticized the policy that forced teams to carry fewer players in the playoffs than during the season.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/08/02/rules.changes.ap/index.html

 

[phunwin]

I like it, but why not take it a step further and just seed everyone in the conference 1-8 according to record? Why give the New Jersey Nets bonus points for winning the slapstick Atlantic Division?

 

[djfresh47]

I like it, but why not take it a step further and just seed everyone in the conference 1-8 according to record? Why give the New Jersey Nets bonus points for winning the slapstick Atlantic Division?

I agree, Memphis lost out for finishing with a better record than the Clippers. The Mavs/Spurs series was epic and I think it hurt the NBA that the series happened one round too soon. Phoenix was a good team but San Antonio and Dallas were the class of the Western Conference.

 

[Roman529]

My solution would be to cut back the teams to 6 in each Conference going to the playoffs.....it is already very watered down....quite often teams with records under .500 go to the playoffs. I would give the top 2 teams in each Conference a bye, and have the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th team battle it out in round 1....6 vs. 3 and 4 vs. 5 with the 4/5 winner taking on the top ranked team and the 6/3 winner taking on the 2nd ranked team.

 

[Fresh]

I like it, but why not take it a step further and just seed everyone in the conference 1-8 according to record? Why give the New Jersey Nets bonus points for winning the slapstick Atlantic Division?

I agree. I think the four best teams in the Eastern Conference right now = Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, & Chicago. It sucks that the winner of the Atlantic division is guaranteed a top 4 seed. However, if the #5 seed has a better record, then that team gets homecourt, so then again, it all works out for the better.

I like the idea of 15 players too. Dorell Wright & Earl Barron could've played in some of our playoff blowouts. :refuse:

 

[phunwin]

My solution would be to cut back the teams to 6 in each Conference going to the playoffs.....it is already very watered down....quite often teams with records under .500 go to the playoffs. I would give the top 2 teams in each Conference a bye, and have the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th team battle it out in round 1....6 vs. 3 and 4 vs. 5 with the 4/5 winner taking on the top ranked team and the 6/3 winner taking on the 2nd ranked team.

That I cannot get behind. With the physical nature of the NBA playoffs, plus the nightly schedule (as opposed to one game per week in the NFL), being a 1 or 2 seed would have a HUGE advantage. Much more so than deserved.

While we're at it, I'd eliminate the byes for 1 and 2 seeds in the NFL playoffs, too.

 

[djfresh47]

That I cannot get behind. With the physical nature of the NBA playoffs, plus the nightly schedule (as opposed to one game per week in the NFL), being a 1 or 2 seed would have a HUGE advantage. Much more so than deserved.

While we're at it, I'd eliminate the byes for 1 and 2 seeds in the NFL playoffs, too.

I agree but the playoffs do tend to drag on. I'd like to see a more consistent schedule. Instead of a team playing on a tuesday and then not playing again til like a saturday.

 

[Roman529]

Back when I first started to watch NBA games in the 70's, the early rounds were best of 5......they need to go back to this...the NBA season should not drag on to July. :rolleyes2

 

[Kdawg954]

Back when I first started to watch NBA games in the 70's, the early rounds were best of 5......they need to go back to this...the NBA season should not drag on to July. :rolleyes2

Nah it has never dragged into July, its always complete around mid June, as this year was done June 20th. But I agree with u on the first round being best of 5, I liked that, even tho it was a big advantage for the team with homecourt in the series, who cares, they play 82 games, the top seeds should have an advantage.

 

[Alex44]

NFL wildcard team doesnt get home field even if they have a better record than a team that won its divison, and the Wildcard team doesnt get a two seed for having the second best record if they finish #2 in their divison

Why should it be any different in the NBA?

 

[Fresh]

Back when I first started to watch NBA games in the 70's, the early rounds were best of 5......they need to go back to this...the NBA season should not drag on to July. :rolleyes2

Nah, that's one thing I disagree with in this thread. (by the way, the Finals usually ends around June 20th or so; never into July)

I love the best-of-7 for each round idea. Even though I am a Heat fan and it was a benefit for us, one thing I'd like to see the league get rid of is the 2-3-2 system in the NBA Finals. I want to see 2-2-1-1-1 in each round. It's truly not fair to the team without homecourt advantage that in most cases, you're either required to open out with a split or win all three at home. I find it highly unlikely for any team to close out the final two games of the Finals with road victories. :refuse: