NBA Playoffs May Soon Change Format

Adam Silver has only been on the job as the NBA commissioner for one and a half seasons but he’s already seeking to make some big changes to benefit the league.

According to Yahoo, Silver has recently brought up his desire to change the current playoff format. “Ultimately, we want to see your best teams in the playoffs. There is a proposal (from one of the broadcasters) where the division winners would all automatically go into the playoffs and then you’d see the next 10 best teams. I think that’s the kind of proposal we need to look at.”

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Silver concedes there would be some issues in this type of playoff format, including travel. The first round of the playoffs would require making cross-country matchups between teams such as the Los Angeles Clippers and the Washington Wizards. This type of arrangement could cause owners of participating franchises reluctance to give up their postseason games in order to face better competition.

On the other hand, this type of playoff system would eliminate losing teams from making the playoffs, such as the Atlanta Hawks last year, who finished 38-44 on the season but qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs over the Phoenix Suns who were bumped from the Western Conference playoffs after finishing 48-34.

“I don’t think the discussion should end there,” Silver added. “And as I’ve said, my first year I was studying a lot of these issues, and year two is time to take action.”

As with any type of change, especially to professional sports, there’s always some critique. There would likely be resistance from owners, coaches and players in addition to the fans. But the goal should be to feature the leagues best teams, regardless of their conference, in the playoffs. It would not only reward teams for their earned records, but the fans who would be treated to NBA playoff matchups they never thought would be possible.