Bill Simmons to NBA : Change Playoff/Conference System Immediatley.

[mFFL03]

well....I know spurs fans are having a great time,

too bad the rest of us are being bored to death. Everyone else with a good head on their shoulders have moved on thinking about the NBA draft....

I have called for David Stern's job for the last 4 years. Any other business with a declining product would start at the top.

Bill Simmons thinks drastic change is needed....

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons

in a nutshell...he proposes abolishment of the conferences since they have been utterly useless. makes some valid points....I totally agree.....too many people are jumping ship after their team loses.

change the system. or make david stern step down.

[jacobdrj]

I just got a splinter sitting on a bench in the park! ELIMINATE ALL WOOD FROM THE PARK! Or I could be more mindful of it in the future...

I just stubbed my toe on a wall. ELIMINATE ALL WALLS! Or I could just wear shoes...

I just got a C on my physics exam. ELIMINATE ALL PHYSICS! Or I could just study harder next time...

[MaNuMaNiAc]

yes, and at the end of that arrangement you'll still get the Spurs in the finals, and you'll still complain about them being boring. You can adjust all you want, but the problem isn't in the seeding, the problem is the Spurs are too damn good, and too damn boring for everybody else.

[Spurminator]

I think we should just have America vote on which teams they want to see in the Finals.

[Marcus Bryant]

The East has won 2 out of the last 3 Finals. There is no reason for a change, save for the angst of Northeastern sports media types who feel compelled to disparage the postseason success of any team not based in their region.

[Marcus Bryant]

I have called for David Stern's job for the last 4 years. Any other business with a declining product would start at the top.


How is it "declining"? The NBA is more popular worldwide than ever before. In addition, Stern has had a rather big hand in building the NBA into what it is today. League revenues continue to climb every year and the league is set to sign yet another lucrative broadcasting rights contract.

[baseline bum]

This guy is complaining about the playoffs being boring, and then he wants to have a two-week tournament of the worst teams in the league? :lmao

[Findog]

Settle down sensitive Spurs supporters. Simmons has been insisting for weeks that the Spurs aren't boring to watch and he's right. However, these Finals ARE boring to watch because the Cavs are completely outclassed and the games haven't been very competitive, and even when they are, you have two bruising halfcourt teams very good at defense -- first team to 80 wins.

I'd like to see the conferences done away with but keep the divisions. You play most teams 3 times, a handful of teams home and away. Take the top 16 teams, go back to the best of five format for the first round. The problem with the playoffs isn't that the Spurs are boring - they're not and they're an absolute necessity - a lone heavyweight in a league full of middleweights. The problem is the imbalance in the two conferences -- Detroit's win in 2004 was greatly aided by Malone's injury, and Miami's win last year was greatly aided by having a much smoother route to the Finals while Dallas had two bruising series against San Antonio and Phoenix. Cleveland is not that good and they were barely tested in reaching the Finals.

[Spurminator]

I'd be fine with eliminating conferences. I'm not sure why you need divisions AND conferences, aside from the All Star Game.

[Obstructed_View]

Until they make a rule that the Spurs aren't allowed to be champions, none of this really matters anyway.

[ChumpDumper]

Simmons needs to write about how to get the Celtics to stop sucking.

[DarkReign]

Did some of you even bother reading the article?

He makes solid points. Do I necessarily agree with the radical change he proposes? Yes and No, but I dont pretend to know better than anyone else, so thats a personal flaw.

But he never bagged on the Spurs (if anything, he swung from the low spot). He knew (like everyone else with a brain not living in Ohio) that the Spurs were going to dismantle, obliterate and completely destroy the Cavs.

Under his system, Phoenix, Detroit, SanAn and Dallas would never play each other until the conference Finals.

Anyway, I am in agreement with an alignment change, but his Super Playoff goofball idea is dumb beyond words. "Yes, lets reduce the regular season's importance to the same level of qualifying in NASCAR."

[ducks]

changing it now ok
but what happens if sa,mavs and suns start sucking?
then are you going to change it then to?

[Findog]

changing it now ok
but what happens if sa,mavs and suns start sucking?
then are you going to change it then to?

sure, why not? I can understand the rationale of having divisions -- it creates rivalries based on geographic proximity. But what purpose does having conferences serve? Teams travel by charter instead of coach now.

[Saguaro]

Change the system so that cheaters are disqualified.

That should take care of the Spurs quickly enough.

[DarkReign]

Change the system so that cheaters are disqualified.

That should take care of the Spurs quickly enough.

Youre a fucking moron.

[Saguaro]

Youre a fucking moron.
:lmao at Piston loser whose team is going to be dismantled. Enjoy your fluke title. The Suns will get like three.

[Obstructed_View]

:lmao at Piston loser whose team is going to be dismantled. Enjoy your fluke title. The Suns will get like three.
The Suns already have at least three rightful chamionships right? Did you get your "Phoenix Suns - The Peoples' Conference Finalist" shirts made yet?

[FromWayDowntown]

I'd be fine with eliminating conferences. I'm not sure why you need divisions AND conferences, aside from the All Star Game.

If you maintained the current 6 division structure, you could equalize schedules (for the most part) and move towards something like league-wide seeding for the playoffs.

With 30 teams, if each team played all others 3 times, those teams would be playing 87 games. But if you keep the 6 divisions, you could provide that each team plays all others 3 times, but only has home-and-away dates with 1 team in each of the other divisions.

For instance, in Year 1, San Antonio plays every team in the league 3 times except: LA Clippers, Seattle, Chicago, Orlando, and Philadelphia.

In that year,

Dallas plays only 2 games against Sacramento, Utah, Milwaukee, Washington, and Boston;

Houston plays 2 against LA Lakers, Denver, Detroit, Miami, and New York;

New Orleans plays 2 against Phoenix, Minnesota, Indiana, Atlanta, and New Jersey;

Memphis plays 2 against Golden State, Portland, Cleveland, Charlotte, and Toronto.

In Year 2, the Spurs play everyone 3 times except: Phoenix, Minnesota, Indiana, Atlanta, and New Jersey

In Year 3, the Spurs play everyone 3 times except: Golden State, Utah, Detroit, Miami, and Toronto

The variations are endless, but you'd have a fairly balanced schedule and you'd be able, then, to seed across the league.

I'm not sure that it's entirely necessary to change the playoff structure, but I think Stern's quarrel that disparities are cylical doesn't really justify a complete refusal to reconsider -- the restructuring wouldn't be affected by a change in the cycle; in fact, it would account for that.

I could see that one quarrel with the argument is that you do away with (or limit) some regional rivalries that are worth preserving. But you might actually create some new rivalries that aren't necessarily regionally-based (a good playoff series between Utah and Toronto might actually create a rivalry that nobody would have expected). And with the current system, it's not like your assured of frequently getting playoff rivals to meet.

I haven't really given this much thought and I'm pretty much against the idea of tinkering with long-standing systems to address seemingly short-term concerns. But I'm also fairly sure now that there are ways to tinker that won't bring an end to the NBA as we know it.

[itzsoweezee]

bill simmons is a blowhard who doesn't know how to write anything but hyperbole.

this about sums the NBA playoff situation up:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArkjyBKI0z7FRkDvJctZdjO8vLYF?slug=dw-playoffs061307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
"No question, these playoffs have been a disappointment and these Finals have been a dud. But it is one year, one example, of a number of bad luck circumstances.

No one was complaining a year ago when the first round was hailed as the greatest ever, when San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix knocked each other around, when Dwyane Wade was lifting the Heat to a title. Or the year before when San Antonio and Detroit staged a seven-game duel. Or the year before when the Pistons shocked the Lakers.

This year? Terrible. But that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes."

[DarkReign]

:lmao at Piston loser whose team is going to be dismantled. Enjoy your fluke title. The Suns will get like three.

Hehe...how many Finals have the Suns played in, again?

Lets not play this game, Mr. City of Phoenix. Unless youre talking New York, Chicago or LA, your city's sporting world isnt even in the same galaxy.

Besides, just sticking to basketball alone, you still lose from cradle to grave.

And yet I am the sort to not personalize any sporting franchise (for the obvious reasons). Maybe you do, but thats your problem in 2 ways...

1) You have no influence on anything sports related that you care about. Newsflash.

2) With Reason #1 in mind, even through some weird irrationality that makes you personalize a team, you have decided to emotionally invest yourself in a city/state that hasnt won anything, ever, in any sport.

So not only have you "hitched your wagon" to an abortion of a sporting market that is Arizona/Phoenix, your area has finally managed to assemble a true contender in an era where there are 2 others in your own conference that are consistently kicking your teams ass.

I dont know whether to laugh at you, or cry for you.

[DarkReign]

"No question, these playoffs have been a disappointment and these Finals have been a dud. But it is one year, one example, of a number of bad luck circumstances.

No one was complaining a year ago when the first round was hailed as the greatest ever, when San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix knocked each other around, when Dwyane Wade was lifting the Heat to a title. Or the year before when San Antonio and Detroit staged a seven-game duel. Or the year before when the Pistons shocked the Lakers.

This year? Terrible. But that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes."

This year's playoffs has not been a disappointment by any stretch of the imagination. Its been highly entertaining and strangely unpredictable (which is an absolute rarity in the NBA).

Its just been a horrible Finals. Whose fault is that? If you had to blame some one or some team, you would have to blame the Pistons.

Every round has been great, except for the last one because one team is so much damn better than the other, its pathetic.

But even my blind homerism tells me SA would have exposed the Pistons for the Big Talk, No Walk, egotistical entitled collection of whiney bitches they are.

[Findog]

you have decided to emotionally invest yourself in a city/state that hasnt won anything, ever, in any sport.

Not to be a pedant or defend a Suns troll, but didn't the Snakes win a World Series?

[itzsoweezee]

This year's playoffs has not been a disappointment by any stretch of the imagination. Its been highly entertaining and strangely unpredictable (which is an absolute rarity in the NBA).

Its just been a horrible Finals. Whose fault is that? If you had to blame some one or some team, you would have to blame the Pistons.

Every round has been great, except for the last one because one team is so much damn better than the other, its pathetic.

But even my blind homerism tells me SA would have exposed the Pistons for the Big Talk, No Walk, egotistical entitled collection of whiney bitches they are.

the conference finals were pretty boring too. other than the one game where lebron went off, none of the conference finals games were special. maybe if wade wasn't injured and if the bulls had gotten the second seed it would've been a lot better, but most of these playoff series haven't been that competitive.

[monosylab1k]

Not to be a pedant or defend a Suns troll, but didn't the Snakes win a World Series?

Arizona Wildcats have done pretty well for themselves in college basketball as well. No timeout meltdowns at the end of championship games for that state's college.

[Findog]

Arizona Wildcats have done pretty well for themselves in college basketball as well. No timeout meltdowns at the end of championship games for that state's college.

They won with Bibby and Miles Simon, correct? Hey, there's something to hope for, they were the Mavs of college basketball, Stevie Nash sent them home as a 15-seed. Hopefully our franchise's luck will turn someday too.

[DarkReign]

Arizona Wildcats have done pretty well for themselves in college basketball as well. No timeout meltdowns at the end of championship games for that state's college.

Professional Sports, thank you.

But if you want to include college, the comparison just gets more weighted.

DBacks - One Title
AZ College BBall - ??? (i dont know or care, ill give em 2 for posterity)

Need I go on with this list?

[Findog]

Professional Sports, thank you.

But if you want to include college, the comparison just gets more weighted.

DBacks - One Title
AZ College BBall - ??? (i dont know or care, ill give em 2 for posterity)

Need I go on with this list?

Well, of course not, Pistons have 3 titles, Tigers have one in my lifetime and another in 68, Lions probably won an NFL title before the merger. Really, if it weren't for the Pistons, Michigan professional sports would have a pretty bare trophycase.

[monosylab1k]

Professional Sports, thank you.

But if you want to include college, the comparison just gets more weighted.

DBacks - One Title
AZ College BBall - ??? (i dont know or care, ill give em 2 for posterity)

Need I go on with this list?

i could give a fuck about that, just shooting down the claim that a sports team in Arizona has never won a championship.

[SRJ]

I don't think the system needs changing at all. Having said that, the only big change I could support is the following.

The regular season remains exactly the same, and division titles still apply. However, in the playoffs, there are not two brackets in a conference system; there is one sixteen team bracket and seeds are parceled out according to record. The 2007 Playoff Bracket under this proposal looks like this:

1 DAL
16 ORL/LAC (you could have a play-in game for a tiebreaker)

8 CHI
9 TOR

5 HOU
12 LAL

4 DET
13 GS

3 SA
14 NJ

6 UTA
11 MIA

7 CLE
10 DEN

2 PHO
15 WAS

[MrChug]

I think we should just have America vote on which teams they want to see in the Finals.

Then we'd never see a Finals ever again!!! :pctoss

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I don't think the system needs changing at all. Having said that, the only big change I could support is the following.

The regular season remains exactly the same, and division titles still apply. However, in the playoffs, there are not two brackets in a conference system; there is one sixteen team bracket and seeds are parceled out according to record. The 2007 Playoff Bracket under this proposal looks like this:

1 DAL
16 ORL/LAC (you could have a play-in game for a tiebreaker)

8 CHI
9 TOR

5 HOU
12 LAL

4 DET
13 GS

3 SA
14 NJ

6 UTA
11 MIA

7 CLE
10 DEN

2 PHO
15 WAS
And out of all of those (factoring in the same injuries that made MIA and WAS such washouts this year) most of those first round series would have sucked, and Denver would have likely knocked King James out in the first round. That would not have helped the league. GS/DET might have been good. The second round would have been worthwhile, but would anyone still be watching after a six bad series?

This postseason got killed by a lot of stuff that reseeding won't solve. It won't ensure that stars like Wade and Arenas are healthy. While it might have saved Dallas this year, a nightmare matchup might knocking out a media darling isn't something that a seeding system can prevent or ensure. That's always a possibility. Reseeding wouldn't have kept the Pistons from choking against a team they should have beaten soundly to set up a finals rematch. And reseeding won't prevent two small market teams with unmarketable superstars from meeting in the finals and playing horrible basketball, even if they are the best. The 2005 finals saw four blowouts, followed by three incredible games. Those last three games were easily the best out of the entire postseason and they happened thanks to the current system.

Or to put it more tersely, shit happens. It doesn't matter how you seed this shit, shit will happen and fuck your shit up sometimes.

[DarkReign]

Well, of course not, Pistons have 3 titles, Tigers have one in my lifetime and another in 68, Lions probably won an NFL title before the merger. Really, if it weren't for the Pistons, Michigan professional sports would have a pretty bare trophycase.

We'll ignore the 2 you mentioned:

Pistons. 3 Rings
Michigan. 2 National Titles

.

And move on to the others:

Tigers. 2 Series (in modern era, save the 1900s crap)
Red Wings. 3 Cups (10 total, but again, screw that pre-modern era stuff)
Lions. Suck. (some title before there was a Super Bowl)
Michigan State. 2 National Titles (or 1, cant remember because I dont care)
Shock. 2 Rings (:lmao)

[Don Quixote]

I basically agree with Simmons. We need a setup where the best teams play each other at the end. (2) No more weeks off between playoff games, the playoffs are long enough. I would shorten the first two rounds as well. (3) I'm fine with getting rid of the conferences in the finals. The point is to try to prevent scrubs like Cleveland from beating the system in the future and making a mockery of the Finals. So, while I might disagree with Simmons' execution, I like the basic idea.

[Don Quixote]

The Spurs would still win under any scenario, most likely. But I would have liked to have seen better series along the way.

[Switchman]

It'd be perfectly fine with me

but why not change it long time ago when the west sucked.

[romad_20]

I like the idea actually. I mean as a Spurs fan I would rather be playing PHX or Dal right now. It would be way more exciting and we'd still beat them.

[word]

Much of it has to do with demographics. The first baby boomers have started retiring and by and large, old peoples aren't interested in the NBA so it's only going to get worse. Plus America is still a white nation that doesn't want to see a 90% black league. This is why extreme sports, neck racing, etc are getting bigger and bigger. White America isn't buying the NBA product.

[confined]

yes, and at the end of that arrangement you'll still get the Spurs in the finals, and you'll still complain about them being boring. You can adjust all you want, but the problem isn't in the seeding, the problem is the Spurs are too damn good, and too damn boring for everybody else.
If it were the spurs and say either dallas or the suns in the finals it would be FAR from boring, west just dominates east nowadays, its quite obvious that cleveland is no where as good as the spurs. These finals are boring because its too one-sided, having the 2 best teams in the league battle it out in the finals would solve this problem

[mFFL03]

a lot more people are in favor of this than I thought.....

once again, good job for the spurs, they are doing what they are supposed to do....

but that new playoff system does sound cool...I would be down in a heart beat..

[B and P Cats]

a lot more people are in favor of this than I thought.....

once again, good job for the spurs, they are doing what they are supposed to do....

but that new playoff system does sound cool...I would be down in a heart beat..


I would be down with this too. There might even be a lot more competition during the year to be part of the elite top four teams that play in the conference finals. I thought this year it was too bad that the Mavs lost to the 8th seeded Warriors, because a conference Finals with the Mavs and Spurs would have been fun to watch. The new system might preserve the fact that they they would likely meet each other.

Just as a point way off of this conversation, I thought that had Wade been healthy this year it would have been fun to watch a Spurs - Heat match-up in the Finals. It would have been Shaq against Duncan; Wade against Parker; and Riley against Popovich (both have won many trophies). I would have watched that!

[mFFL03]

I would be down with this too. There might even be a lot more competition during the year to be part of the elite top four teams that play in the conference finals. I thought this year it was too bad that the Mavs lost to the 8th seeded Warriors, because a conference Finals with the Mavs and Spurs would have been fun to watch. The new system might preserve the fact that they they would likely meet each other.

Just as a point way off of this conversation, I thought that had Wade been healthy this year it would have been fun to watch a Spurs - Heat match-up in the Finals. It would have been Shaq against Duncan; Wade against Parker; and Riley against Popovich (both have won many trophies). I would have watched that!


trust me....buddy...you don't ever want the Heat in the finals again....

stoppage of play every 40 seconds for a foul....I'll almost guarantee the Heat don't make it back to the Finals in the next 10 years

[B and P Cats]

trust me....buddy...you don't ever want the Heat in the finals again....

stoppage of play every 40 seconds for a foul....I'll almost guarantee the Heat don't make it back to the Finals in the next 10 years


:lol I really hope that the Heat are not in the Finals again for a long time either. You guys really got worked over by them last year, and I don't think it was your fault. Watching the games got annoying even for a 'cats fan! You should have won those games IMO! I really hope you have another chance for a championship soon.

I was just saying that it would have been interesting if the Spurs were up against something like them. Even though the games got stopped a lot, it would have been interesting to see winning coach against winning coach, and winning players against winning players. Providing , of course, the referreeing was good!