crgassoc
08-02-2006, 01:38 PM
NBA changes playoff seeding for 2006-07
David Stern
Sports Ticker
8/2/2006 2:03:05 PM
NEW YORK (Ticker) - After the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks met in the playoffs a round earlier than they deserved, the NBA decided to do something about it.
The NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday approved several rule changes for the 2006-07 season, including an alteration of its playoff seeding.
This past season, Southwest Division rivals San Antonio and Dallas had the two best records in the Western Conference but were seeded first and fourth, respectively, for the playoffs because league rules mandated the division champions would automatically earn the top three seeds in each conference.
The teams met in a classic seven-game conference semifinal, which Dallas won en route to reaching the NBA Finals. However, many felt the teams should have met in the conference final, and the NBA evidently listened.
For next season, the first four seeds in each conference will continue to be assigned to the three division winners and the team with the next-best record, but they now will be seeded in order of regular-season record. This will ensure that the teams with the top two marks during the 82-game campaign will not meet earlier than the conference finals.
The league also voted to shorten timeouts. If a team has two 60-second timeouts left in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime, one will be reduced to 20 seconds. Instead of having three minute-long timeouts in overtime, squads will have two 60-minute stoppages and a 20-second one, and they will no longer be permitted to carry over a 20-second timeout into overtime.
"Our owners are intent on making the playoff seeding more fair for all teams going forward and in quickening the pace of the end of games," NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said.
Finally, playoff rosters will be expanded from 13 to 15 players, with teams designating 12 active and three inactive players before each game.
"The Board also thought it made sense to allow teams to utilize the same 15-man roster in the playoffs that they use during the regular season," Jackson said.
David Stern
Sports Ticker
8/2/2006 2:03:05 PM
NEW YORK (Ticker) - After the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks met in the playoffs a round earlier than they deserved, the NBA decided to do something about it.
The NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday approved several rule changes for the 2006-07 season, including an alteration of its playoff seeding.
This past season, Southwest Division rivals San Antonio and Dallas had the two best records in the Western Conference but were seeded first and fourth, respectively, for the playoffs because league rules mandated the division champions would automatically earn the top three seeds in each conference.
The teams met in a classic seven-game conference semifinal, which Dallas won en route to reaching the NBA Finals. However, many felt the teams should have met in the conference final, and the NBA evidently listened.
For next season, the first four seeds in each conference will continue to be assigned to the three division winners and the team with the next-best record, but they now will be seeded in order of regular-season record. This will ensure that the teams with the top two marks during the 82-game campaign will not meet earlier than the conference finals.
The league also voted to shorten timeouts. If a team has two 60-second timeouts left in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime, one will be reduced to 20 seconds. Instead of having three minute-long timeouts in overtime, squads will have two 60-minute stoppages and a 20-second one, and they will no longer be permitted to carry over a 20-second timeout into overtime.
"Our owners are intent on making the playoff seeding more fair for all teams going forward and in quickening the pace of the end of games," NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said.
Finally, playoff rosters will be expanded from 13 to 15 players, with teams designating 12 active and three inactive players before each game.
"The Board also thought it made sense to allow teams to utilize the same 15-man roster in the playoffs that they use during the regular season," Jackson said.