Bill Simmons - "Fixing the NBA playoffs"

Bill Simmons has come up with an interesting concept that I'm very much a fan off.

Basically the top 7 teams in each conference qualify for playoffs automatically and get slotted into the current 16 team bracket by W/L record ranking. Based on how standings are right now for example we would see:

1. Spurs v 16. ???
2. Thunder v 15. ???
3. Clippers v 14. Raptors
4. Heat v 13. Bulls
5. Pacers v 12. Nets
6. Houston v 11. Wizards
7. Portland v 10. Bobcats
8. Golden State v 9. Dallas

The 15 & 16 seeds would be determined by a 1 week knock out style tournament by the remaining 16 teams. I'm of the opinion that it would reduce the amount of players being shelved for the season (think the Lakers & Kobe) when they are healthy enough to come back yet want to help tank for draft picks. It would also give teams 1-14 a week off to rest.

Based on current standings our first round would look like:

1. Suns v 16. Bucks
2. Grizzlies v 15. Sixers
3. Wolves v 14. Magic
4. Hawks v 13. Celts
5. Knicks v 12. Jazz
6. Nuggs v 11. Lakers
7. Pelicans v 10. Kings
8. Cavs v 9. Pistons

I can see the C's beating the Hawks in an upset, suns, grizzlies and cavs all getting up. Magic could upset on their day, Lakers n Nuggs would be close but I pick Denver, Knicks if smith doesn't attempt 20+ 3PA and the Pels making the next round.

Round 2 sees
Suns v Cavs
Grizzlies v Pels
Wolves v Nuggs
Knicks v Celtics

I pick all 4 top seeds, but only if Gasol & Z-Bo can contain the Brow.

Suns v Knicks would be real interesting
Grizz v Wolves would be a scrap fest
Both games could go either way!

A healthy Suns team to top the Knicks, despite Melo dropping 40. If not healthy then NY wins IMO. Grizzlies contain Love and advance as Rubio can't score.

Then we are left win Grizz v Suns loser gets the spurs, winner the thunder

And we then get 9 west teams into the playoffs v 7 east to adjust for the talent equality

Obviously it has some issues around draft pick spots if knocked out early but it would really make things interesting.

Would love some thoughts!

Love BIll Simmons (If you haven't read it - the book of basketball is a great read - http://www.amazon.com/Book-Basketba...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396901554&sr=1-1)

Love his thinking out of the box on this one, there is obviously a discrepancy between the 2 conferences in terms of talent levels, would be good if there was a way to balance it out?

Oh for sure he's very good to read. This one in particular I like. Obviously some parts of it would need further reviewing (like draft picks if Hawks lose in that first round).

The travelling between conferences is just too much of a hindrance to this plan.

Example standings:
1. Miami
2. Dallas
15. Houston
16. Portland

So the first ranked team is stuck travelling 8 hours back and forth while the second ranked team is only an hour away from their opponent.

Say Miami win this series and then go on to play LA and Utah in the next two rounds. The accumulation of travel would be a serious disadvantage that could happen to any side no matter their ranking.

maybe it's time to get rid of conferences?

There is no way those bottom teams have earned the right to play for a playoff spot.

That's why even making the playoffs is a big deal, some people overlook how tough it can be for some organisations.

I think something needs to be done though. The East is disgusting and there will be a very very tough West team missing out as well as the Wolves who are better than a few of the East teams that are in.

Maybe changing the draft will impact on teams bottoming out. It seems a lot of East teams have been doing it for a while.

I think its highly unlikely those bottom teams grab a playoff spot through this format. However I am big on the wild card scenario to give an extra spot to which ever the stronger conference may be at the time (lol, jk its always the west). However, the teams on the cusp battling injuries would now be more inclined to return injured players then shut them down i believe.

nichj99 said:

I think its highly unlikely those bottom teams grab a playoff spot through this format. However I am big on the wild card scenario to give an extra spot to which ever the stronger conference may be at the time (lol, jk its always the west). However, the teams on the cusp battling injuries would now be more inclined to return injured players then shut them down i believe.

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It's also a waste of time to have the Suns play the Bucks for instance. The Bucks have been tanking on purpose, playing guys 25 mins, they could quite easily pull off an upset.

You don't hand out playoff experience, it is earned. Lucky this will never come in.

I do however, think a wildcard would work, but probably only a 15th vs 18th and 16th vs 17th scenario. Especially in the case where the West has 10 strong teams and the East only 4/5

Very true, so maybe going that far down to include the bucks is over kill in the example above. However the concept of wildcard has merit I think.

nichj99 said:

Very true, so maybe going that far down to include the bucks is over kill in the example above. However the concept of wildcard has merit I think.

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I totally agree, it would be great.

I also think the extra week it takes would be too much.

But it stop people from complaining about the East/West thing, you can't complain if say 9 West teams make it to 7 East.

I'm not sure what Simmons ideas on the NBA draft are (or is that the chocolate wheel thing?) but I think it needs changing too.

The only problem I have with this system is it makes the 82 games even more meaningless than they already are, if you can tank the whole season, win 15 games total, get a number 1 pick and then still have a chance at a playoff upset. So a team like Lakers could bring Kobe back just for the playoff tourney, having rested him the whole season for draft picks. It makes the whole regular season a complete waste of time and I think it would actually cause more decent teams to tank. Imagine if a team like Miami decided that it was good enough to beat anyone in a tourney (with the big 3) regardless of their opposition, so they rest all 3 of them for the entire season and then just bring them back and destroy everyone in the playoffs.

The only way it might work is if a player needs to play a certain number of games, or minutes, to qualify. For example minimum 2000 minutes on court (50 games x 40 minutes).

I agree about getting rid of conferences. No harm in playing more local teams during the regular season (eg west playing west more often than west playing east) but i think the final playoffs should be a 1-16 list, not 2 lots of 1-8. You should never have a case where the 2 best teams in the NBA can't meet in the finals.

I don't think any team, example being Miami would rest their big 3 for the whole season. The biggest advantage you can get in the playoffs is home court. And Miami would be very beatable in a 1 v 16 matchup v the spurs where 4 games are on the road.

nichj99 said:

I don't think any team, example being Miami would rest their big 3 for the whole season. The biggest advantage you can get in the playoffs is home court. And Miami would be very beatable in a 1 v 16 matchup v the spurs where 4 games are on the road.

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You don't think that's a punt Miami would take? They believe they are capable of beating anyone, anywhere. And now they get a bonus potential #1 pick for next season...

I dunno, I think this idea hasn't been thought through yet Current system does suck though.

Nope I don't think there's any team good enough in the league right now who could confidently say that punt is worth having a crack at instead of home court advantage through the playoffs. Do you really think Pat Riley would promote mediocrity under his watch? Why gamble everything on a possible first round exit, when realistically they are set for the next 5 years to be a contender and win in each of those. How often does an 8th seen beat the 1 seed, or even the 4th seed beat the 1st seed for that matter. 1-4 are usually pretty even, out west at least, and it's still rare to see. Not worth the risk, period.

maybe it should be a bracket like the NCAA - knockout style too!

Billyhoyle said:

maybe it should be a bracket like the NCAA - knockout style too!

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the season is far too long.. there wouldn't be enough to play for if everyone had a chance to win it at the end.

There's no way Lebron and the Heat would rest all season. As much as they say they don't care, they all like to see their career numbers continue to go up and up. Plus, they're competitors, they want to compete all of the time.

Fleer57 said:

the season is far too long.. there wouldn't be enough to play for if everyone had a chance to win it at the end.

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maybe just the top 16 teams bracketed?