NBA

Eliminating Conference Seeding Would Make NBA Playoffs More Exciting

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By @MichaelTerrill

Adam Silver

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Commissioner Adam Silver of the NBA has already made waves since taking over the position from David Stern in 2014. His best is clearly yet to come, as evidence of his desire to eliminate conference seeding for the NBA playoffs.

Silver would prefer to allow the 16 best overall teams in the league to enter the playoffs, opposed to the top eight teams from each conference. That means no more below-.500 teams from the Eastern Conference sulking in the first round of the postseason and giving the No. 1 seed a practice round prior to entering the quarterfinals.

“Ultimately we want to see your best teams in the playoffs,” Silver said, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on Wednesday. “And there is an imbalance and a certain unfairness.”

“I think that’s the kind of proposal we need to look at. There are travel issues, of course, but in this day and age every team, of course, has their own plane, travels charter,” Silver continued. “… It’s something I’m going to look at closely with the competition committee. A lot of owners have strong feelings on it, but I think it is an area where we need to make a change.”

If the change were implemented this season, which it will not be, the current No. 7 and No. 8 seed of the Eastern Conference would miss the postseason, while 10 teams from the Western Conference would clinch playoff berths.

Even though there would be initial backlash from the teams that get left out because of the rule change, the reality is the NBA playoffs would be far more exciting with Silver’s vision. Despite the possibility of the Miami Heat (21-28) upsetting the Atlanta Hawks (41-9) in the first round of the playoffs, it is more likely the Hawks will win in four games with ease. For general fans, there is no point in watching the games. Therefore, not only is the NBA losing money, but also it is losing fan interest.

It is an exciting time for the NBA with Silver at the helm. He has clearly taken the time over the years to look at what needs to change to make the sport more enjoyable. As he stated, his first year was to look at various issues, while his second year as commissioner is to start taking action. Of course, 2016 is where his actions could start being applied to change the landscape of the NBA for the better.

Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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