The Eastern Conference is making a great case for ditching East/West Playoffs

[cima]

I'm sure this has been discussed before and there were reports going around earlier that the NBA is supposedly going to address (but not necessarily do anything) the playoff issue in the upcoming meetings.

The Western Conference has been far superior for I don't know how long now but at least 10 years if not longer. I don't believe any of the 4 remaining EC teams would have a prayer against a team like Golden State. It's also a travesty that a team like the Spurs is out of action after the first round and the Wizards are still in it.

If you just took the 16 best teams, this is what the Playoffs would have looked like:



Maybe the seeding would be re-arranged slightly, I just used a bracket generator. But how much better would these Playoffs be if it looked like that? The Eastern Conference has been dragging down post season basketball for too long now and there's no end in sight. I really hope they do something about it...

[ProfessaPackMan]

Don't have any issue with the current setup and the Spurs being out of the playoffs is not some travesty and(no disrespect to them or their fans)but I'm tired of people making it sound like Basketball just died just because they're not in the playoffs.

[JODYE]

You know how you avoid begin eliminated from the playoffs?

Win.

[cima]

Quote: Originally Posted by ProfessaPackMan

Don't have any issue with the current setup and the Spurs being out of the playoffs is not some travesty and(no disrespect to them or their fans)but I'm tired of people making it sound like Basketball just died just because they're not in the playoffs.

Quote: Originally Posted by 13

You know how you avoid begin eliminated from the playoffs? Win.

You're both missing the point here. The Spurs are far superior to all 4 remaining EC teams. As a basketball fan, why wouldn't you want to see the 16 best teams, period?

If you really believe the current setup is better, I'd love to hear the argument. Just looking at that bracket I posted, I don't see how anyone wouldn't prefer that, other than being a homer for your team.

[JODYE]

I'm really not in favor of one over another personally. I can see why people might think it is a needed change, although the Spurs being eliminated really doesn't offend me at all compared to as much as it does some. Not sure what it matters being eliminated in the first round as opposed to the second.

But patience doesn't exist anymore and anytime there is a chance that something appears unfair, we throw a bunch of rule changes at it hoping that it fixes it. It's happened in every sport over the last 10-15 years.

It goes in cycles. In the 60s and 80s, and at the end of the 90s, the Eastern Conference was the dominant conference in basketball and now it's the West. Just the way it goes.

[cima]

Quote: Originally Posted by 13

It goes in cycles. In the 60s and 80s, and at the end of the 90s, the Eastern Conference was the dominant conference in basketball and now it's the West. Just the way it goes.

More the reason to change it IMO. Odds are the WCF this year is the true NBA championship.

Under this bracket, the final four is likely Warriors/Clippers and Cavs/Spurs or Cavs/Rockets depending who you like in Rockets vs Spurs matchup. The Spurs/Clips round was so exciting and it could likely be the best series of the entire playoffs. Under this scenario, Clips vs. Spurs could actually be for the title.

I just think the revamped system would provide better matchups and a true grounds of the 16 best teams. I guess it just irks me that a team like the Wizards or Hawks is going to be in the final four. And yes I know the Hawks had a great regular season, but we've seen plenty of instances where that doesn't matter and no one is really taking the Hawks seriously, and rightfully so.

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by cima

More the reason to change it IMO. Odds are the WCF this year is the true NBA championship. Under this bracket, the final four is likely Warriors/Clippers and Cavs/Spurs or Cavs/Rockets depending who you like in Rockets vs Spurs matchup. The Spurs/Clips round was so exciting and it could likely be the best series of the entire playoffs. Under this scenario, Clips vs. Spurs could actually be for the title. I just think the revamped system would provide better matchups and a true grounds of the 16 best teams. I guess it just irks me that a team like the Wizards or Hawks is going to be in the final four. And yes I know the Hawks had a great regular season, but we've seen plenty of instances where that doesn't matter and no one is really taking the Hawks seriously, and rightfully so.

So you consider yourself the NBA expert that determines that despite record teams like the Hawks aren't very good but the Spurs are far superior? No one took the Spurs seriously last year... until they won. Maybe the Hawks win it all this year and then next year when you do your bracket you'll say they don't deserve their 5 seed and should really be a #1?

Personally I'm glad they play the games, produce records and are seeded accordingly.

Besides that, I cosign everything that 13 and PPM already said.

[cima]

Quote: Originally Posted by wwharton

So you consider yourself the NBA expert that determines that despite record teams like the Hawks aren't very good but the Spurs are far superior? No one took the Spurs seriously last year... until they won. Maybe the Hawks win it all this year and then next year when you do your bracket you'll say they don't deserve their 5 seed and should really be a #1? Personally I'm glad they play the games, produce records and are seeded accordingly. Besides that, I cosign everything that 13 and PPM already said.

What are you talking about? The Spurs had the best record in the league (while playing in the WC), had a close call in round 1 against Dallas and then proceeded to stomp through the playoffs on the way to their championship. And really all things considered, they should have won the title in 2013 as well. This is coming from a huge LeBron James fan. I remember last year differently, I recall the Spurs wanting homecourt advantage in 2014 as that likely would have made the difference in 2013. So they got it and they won, just like they were supposed to.

Like I stated previously, regular season success is not always indicative of playoff success. How many times have we seen two teams matched up in the playoffs where the team that LOST the regular season series ends up winning the playoff series? You don't need records to tell you that the Hawks aren't championship material, just watch them play. They struggled with a Nets team that had no business being in the playoffs and now they're extremely lucky to not be down 2-0 to the Wizards despite Wall not even playing in game 2.

You're making some far-fetched assumptions about my thinking. I don't even get what you're trying to say about the Hawks being a #5 seed? They're the #2 seed in the bracket above...