[ThePundit]

WFAN just did about 2 hours on the new NBA playoff seeding system. In previous years, all the division winners in each conference were guaranteed one of the top three seeds. Not anymore.

Now, they're guaranteed only one of the top 4 seeds. So if there is a team in the conference who has a better record than the worst division winner, that team moves into the 3 seed and the division winner gets the 4 seed. (They can't be seeded lower than the 4).

But here is where it really gets dumb. As it stands now, The seeding in the eastern Conference would be:

1) Detroit
2) Cleveland
3) Washington
4) Toronto: .537 winning %
5) Chicago: .574 winning %

So Toronto would play Chicago in the 4-5 matchup. But CHICAGO is going to get the home court advantage, because they have the better record - even though they have the lower seed.

This is pretty silly. What do the seeds mean, then? They just should have left it the way it was, or get rid of the divisions, all together.

The reason the NBA changed the rule was because Dallas had to play San Antonio in the quarter finals, , because Dallas was the 4 seed instead of the 3seed, because they weren't the division winner.

What the NBA did to rectify the situation was like trying to fix a leak by taking the cement out of the leak that you already fixed.

[EmpireWF]

Ugh. They should just bottle up the divisions and just have the 2 conferences. Then just seed the top 8 teams based on records.

Enough with division winners get top seeds unless another team has a better record and then a division winner may not get HFA.

[ThePundit]

Originally Posted by EmpireWF

Ugh. They should just bottle up the divisions and just have the 2 conferences. Then just seed the top 8 teams based on records.

Enough with division winners get top seeds unless another team has a better record and then a division winner may not get HFA.

I totally agree. I bet you most people don't even know who is in the various divisions, including me. They've switched them so much over the years already.

[trbball08]

yeah i dont see whats wrong with just plain ranking them based on their record

[Michigan Man]

Originally Posted by trbball08

yeah i dont see whats wrong with just plain ranking them based on their record

I think that would be the best way to handle it.