Garbage-TimeHow to Fix the NBA Schedule
August 14 2007 07:38 PM Filed in: Rant
Almost every writer out there has an opinion on the
formats of the playoffs. Some people believe they
should seed 1-16 and not by the current playoff
format. Some writers believe they should inter-seed
which would have the 1 seed from the East play the
8th Seed from the west. Others want to reseed after
the 1st round by conference or by the league as a
whole. But the problem I see with the league isn't
the playoffs it is the regular season schedule.
My plan involves of not having conferences all together and having the league focus on divisions. This would solve the balance between the east and the west because that difference would no longer be there. By losing the conferences and focusing on divisions we can get balanced schedules in each division. Where every team in each division plays the same out of divisional schedule with every team in their own division. This levels the playing field because a team won't because teams in a division won't have an unbalanced schedule for example, Detroit plays Toronto and Miami each 4 times while Chicago plays them each 3 times. Chicago Plays Charlotte and New Jersey 4 times each and Detroit plays them both 3 times. The rest of their schedules are the same. This would lead to the assumption that Detroit's schedule is tougher since they have to play the other two divisional champions from last season an extra time compared to the Bulls.
What is the purpose of having divisions if you play teams outside your division just as much as the teams in your division? There is no point, so I propose an idea that would make the playing fields level in the divisions and bring back rivalries to the NBA. I propose to to revamp the entire schedule instead of only playing teams in your own division four times each team would play them eight times. This would double the total amount of divisional games a team plays to 32, and the rest of the games would be played outside of a team's division. Each team would play every team outside their division twice which would bring the total games played to 82.
This is a great idea because it brings back rivalries that matter, who really cares about a Bulls, Nets Rivalry? I'm a Bulls fan and I would much rather have the rivalries that use to exist in the 80's and 90's. With each team playing so many divisional games, it makes divisions matter again and it also would open up the playoff format because conferences wouldn't matter anymore. The six divisional winners would be seeded 1-6 and the 10 best teams left would be seeded 7-16. This format makes the regular season relevant again but it also brings along the change we need for the playoffs to be great again.
My plan involves of not having conferences all together and having the league focus on divisions. This would solve the balance between the east and the west because that difference would no longer be there. By losing the conferences and focusing on divisions we can get balanced schedules in each division. Where every team in each division plays the same out of divisional schedule with every team in their own division. This levels the playing field because a team won't because teams in a division won't have an unbalanced schedule for example, Detroit plays Toronto and Miami each 4 times while Chicago plays them each 3 times. Chicago Plays Charlotte and New Jersey 4 times each and Detroit plays them both 3 times. The rest of their schedules are the same. This would lead to the assumption that Detroit's schedule is tougher since they have to play the other two divisional champions from last season an extra time compared to the Bulls.
What is the purpose of having divisions if you play teams outside your division just as much as the teams in your division? There is no point, so I propose an idea that would make the playing fields level in the divisions and bring back rivalries to the NBA. I propose to to revamp the entire schedule instead of only playing teams in your own division four times each team would play them eight times. This would double the total amount of divisional games a team plays to 32, and the rest of the games would be played outside of a team's division. Each team would play every team outside their division twice which would bring the total games played to 82.
This is a great idea because it brings back rivalries that matter, who really cares about a Bulls, Nets Rivalry? I'm a Bulls fan and I would much rather have the rivalries that use to exist in the 80's and 90's. With each team playing so many divisional games, it makes divisions matter again and it also would open up the playoff format because conferences wouldn't matter anymore. The six divisional winners would be seeded 1-6 and the 10 best teams left would be seeded 7-16. This format makes the regular season relevant again but it also brings along the change we need for the playoffs to be great again.
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