Lopsided Standings

[troyomac 0]

As it stands right now, 7 games below .500 will get you in the playoffs in the East, and 12 games above .500 might isn't good enough for 1 team in the West. Pretty brutal IMO.

[Cappy37 0]

As it stands right now, 7 games below .500 will get you in the playoffs in the East, and 12 games above .500 might isn't good enough for 1 team in the West. Pretty brutal IMO.

Very Brutal. The media is writing the Blazers completely OFF with a 28-24 record going into the break. And I don't blame them, really.Taking the top 16 teams regardless of conference would answer that, to an extent. You'd see a lot more eastern conference teams answering phones with interest during the trade deadline.But it is cyclical. The East used to be the powerhouse for a good chunk of the Jordan Era (although the West, as a whole, was rarely that aenemic). There were years were teams snuck into the west playoffs with 35 wins, too.In the interest of the best basketball, take the 16 best teams regardless. Who's going to whine if they have to watch the Celtics and Nuggest in the first round? Wouldn't it be neat to see the Lakers or Suns take on the Atlanta Hawks in round one? lol.

[Jadaki 0]

In the interest of the best basketball, take the 16 best teams regardless.

The worst teams in the weaker conference don't make the finals, so it doesn't really make a difference except when it comes to draft position.

[Cappy37 0]

The worst teams in the weaker conference don't make the finals, so it doesn't really make a difference except when it comes to draft position.

which is the strongest argument for taking the top 16: evening out the talent pool in the conferences over time.If that's important to you, then you should get behind the "top 16" department.Another nice side aspect of this will be: there will still be conference rivalries, and the East v. West smacktalk and water cooler discussion will give the NBA the kind of buzz usually reserved for college football.You can talk all you want about how bad not having a playoff is in college football, the fact remains: we NEVER stop talking about college ball, even after the season ends. We stop talking about the NFL within 2 days of the end of the super bowl (the biggest game of the year, ANY sport).

[Jadaki 0]

which is the strongest argument for taking the top 16: evening out the talent pool in the conferences over time.

You assuming teams to do smart things with their draft picks. I point to Detroit selecting Darko over Carmello, Wade, and Bosh as evidence of drafting stupidity.

[Poppy_Hillis 11]

You have to seed by conference with an unbalanced schedule.

[keith crime 8]

they can't take the top 16 teams because it would screw up the television broadcasts and that is all that really matters

[Cappy37 0]

You assuming teams to do smart things with their draft picks. I point to Detroit selecting Darko over Carmello, Wade, and Bosh as evidence of drafting stupidity.

Very true, but not giving them picks to screw up is even less likely to help them, no? Toronto *did* pick Bosh, and Miami *did* pick Wade, after all.

[Cappy37 0]

You have to seed by conference with an unbalanced schedule.

they can't take the top 16 teams because it would screw up the television broadcasts and that is all that really matters

They screw up the TV broadcasts on their own in our current system. I still think it would be worth trying out to give a little extra oomph to the playoffs.I'm not sure what you mean by "screw up", though.. Is watching the Lakers play the Cavaliers 7 times over 39 days in round 2 any different than watching the Cavs play the Raptors 7 times over 39 days in round 2?

[keith crime 8]

They screw up the TV broadcasts on their own in our current system. I still think it would be worth trying out to give a little extra oomph to the playoffs.I'm not sure what you mean by "screw up", though.. Is watching the Lakers play the Cavaliers 7 times over 39 days in round 2 any different than watching the Cavs play the Raptors 7 times over 39 days in round 2?

i'm talking about time zones and having an early game and a late game

[JoeyJoJo 18]

I'm not sure what you mean by "screw up", though.. Is watching the Lakers play the Cavaliers 7 times over 39 days in round 2 any different than watching the Cavs play the Raptors 7 times over 39 days in round 2?

I think he's talking about the time zones. If all the games were in the West, it would be harder to schedule the starting times.David Stern is on record saying it is ridiculous to have open seeding because of the unbalanced schedule, which means it's not going to happen anyway.EDIT: Sweet mother of christ, that's about the 10th time that's happened to me this week. What the fucking hell? Is my typing getting slower? This bothers me more than it should.