If NBA playoffs started today, do Philly and New Jersey deserve to be there?

[gambino95]

Should the NBA go to a "Top 16 teams in the league" format?

If the playoffs started today, Philly and New Jersey would be in due to the fact that their conference is weaker. Thats about the jist of it.

On the other hand, teams like Denver and Portland, both with winning records, would have to stay home because they are grouped into a stronger conference.

The West has been (in general) more competitive than the East "lately" (for the last few years now). This year it is just amazing to see how close the West is compared to the East.

By the way, here is a breakdown of the Top NBA teams regardless of conference...

01 Boston  46 12 .793 
02 Detroit 43 16 .729 
03 San Ant 41 17 .707 
04 LA Lake 42 18 .700 
05 N.O.    39 19 .672 
06 Houston 39 20 .661 
07 Phoenix 39 20 .661 
08 Dallas  39 21 .650 
09 Utah    38 22 .633 
10 Orlando 38 23 .623 
11 G.S.    36 22 .621 
12 Denver  35 24 .593 
13 Cleveln 34 26 .567 
14 Toronto 32 26 .552 
15 Portlnd 31 29 .517 
16 Wash    29 30 .492 
---((would be))-------/\ in playoffs ----- \/ out
17 Sac     27 32 .458 
18 Phila   27 33 .450 
19 N.J.    26 33 .441 
20 Atlanta 24 33 .421 
21 Indiana 24 36 .400 
22 Chicago 23 36 .390 
23 Milwau  22 38 .367 
24 Charlot 20 39 .339 
25 LA Clip 19 38 .333 
26 N.Y.    18 41 .305 
27 Seattle 16 43 .271 
28 Memphis 14 45 .237 
29 Minn    12 46 .207 
30 Miami   11 46 .193

As you can see, if there was a "top 16" playoff format, only 1 team that would be in the playoffs (if they started today) would have a losing record. Also, there would only be a 3 game difference between 4 teams for that last playoff spot.

As it stands right now in the current format, nobody really gives a fuck about the playoff race in the East Coast. The Milwaukee Bucks, who have almost 40 losses, are only 4 games back of the final playoff spot in the East.

Is mediocrity valued in the playoffs? Absolutely not.

What is the NBA to do? Change the format, or keep it like it is?

Personally, I think it would definately benefit the NBA if there was a "top 16" format THIS YEAR. There would be so many great matchups in the 1st round. There would be genuine excitement to see "Kobe vs. LeBron" (#4 vs #13), or "Shaq vs. D.Howard" (#7 vs #10). And in the later rounds there could be some HUGE matchups like San Antonio vs. Detroit on one end of the bracket, and L.A. vs Boston on the other, with the winners going on to play in the Finals.

If began today, the "top 16" format matchups would be...

01 Boston 
16 Washington
           >
08 Dallas
09 Houston
           >
05 New Orleans 
12 Denver
           >
04 LA Lakers
13 Cleveland

03 San Ant
14 Toronto
          >
06 Houston
11 Golden State
          >
07 Phoenix
10 Orlando
          >
02 Detroit 
15 Portland

I think this year if there was a "top 16" format, it would be more fun to watch, especially in the early rounds.

I mean forreal, who besides die hard Pistons fans are gonna watch that "foregone conclusion" 1st round series?

[FuccN Krayzie]

I feel ya. My Nuggets are out as of now.

[Tha Hustla]

Ummmm, honestly I feel that the Top 16 teams idea is completely retarded. Why? Because there is a 90% chance that the Finals would have two teams from the Western Conference playing each other. I agree, the Eastern Conference might be the worst conference in all of sports, but they play for the same seeding as the Western Conference so they deserve the same fair treatment.

The only people that would want to see this Top 16 idea are Portland and Nuggets fans. And the only reason why Nuggets fans are so upset is because Allen Iverson was supposed to make them "that much better" to make it to the Finals and "this is their year" but now they see that they really aren't that much better.

[gambino95]

Originally Posted by FuccN Krayzie

I feel ya. My Nuggets are out as of now.

Yah but there is still ALOT of basketball left. The West is so fun to watch right now, and I think there will be some downward movement on the part of the Rockets and Suns before the season is out.

Sorry Faberg. Shaq has made ur team worse sofar.

[gambino95]

Originally Posted by Tha Hustla

Ummmm, honestly I feel that the Top 16 teams idea is completely retarded. Why? Because there is a 90% chance that the Finals would have two teams from the Western Conference playing each other. I agree, the Eastern Conference might be the worst conference in all of sports, but they play for the same seeding as the Western Conference so they deserve the same fair treatment.

The only people that would want to see this Top 16 idea are Portland and Nuggets fans. And the only reason why Nuggets fans are so upset is because Allen Iverson was supposed to make them "that much better" to make it to the Finals and "this is their year" but now they see that they really aren't that much better.

Or there could be 2 EASTERN conference teams in the Finals. The Pistons CAN BEAT the Spurs. Boston CAN BEAT the Lakers. I wouldnt say it would be 90%, more like 50-50.

Who knows how it would end up, this is all hypothetical, I just think that its ridiculous that a team like Philly who is 6 games under .500 has a cushiony 1 & 1/2 game lead and a 7 seed in the playoffs if they were to start today. Whoever ends up with the 7 & 8 seed in the East once the season is out is gonna be a joke matchup with the Celtics and Pistons, like warmup games.

And Portland, if they were to go, who could argue that they DONT deserve it? They earned my respect this year already, just for being in the thick of things. And I fear them next year especially if they get a guaranteed lottery pick by NOT making the playoffs.

Fuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk.

[Tha Hustla]

Originally Posted by gambino95

Or there could be 2 EASTERN conference teams in the Finals. The Pistons CAN BEAT the Spurs. Boston CAN BEAT the Lakers. I wouldnt say it would be 90%, more like 50-50.

Who knows how it would end up, this is all hypothetical, I just think that its ridiculous that a team like Philly who is 6 games under .500 has a cushiony 1 & 1/2 game lead and a 7 seed in the playoffs if they were to start today. Whoever ends up with the 7 & 8 seed in the East once the season is out is gonna be a joke matchup with the Celtics and Pistons, like warmup games.

And Portland, if they were to go, who could argue that they DONT deserve it? They earned my respect this year already, just for being in the thick of things. And I fear them next year especially if they get a guaranteed lottery pick by NOT making the playoffs.

Fuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk.

There are 2 teams in the Eastern Conference that are even considered good this year, Celtics and Pistons. Golden State has lost 22 games and they are the 8th seed in the Western Conference so I see a much greater chance of two Western Conference teams.

If Portland has the record to make it to the Playoffs at the end of the season then of course I feel that they deserve it but as of right now I don't feel like they have done too much to be a Playoff team over Golden State or Denver. Yes, they have surprised a lot of people in the first half of the season but now they are losing to some of those bad teams in the Eastern Conference and they haven't been beating the teams that they need to be to make it to the Playoffs. (They just lost to Golden State tonight)

Either way, I would hate to see the Playoffs change like that even though I'm sure you feel that the Eastern Conference is so weak that some teams don't deserve to make it. I just think that maybe you should think about how the Philly and New Jersey fans would feel if their teams made the Playoffs. No Allen Iverson this whole year and they are a Playoff team, and all this Jason Kidd shit and New Jersey is in the Playoffs aswell. I think that both of them deserve to make the Playoffs in the Eastern Conference just as much as Portland deserves it in the Western Conference.

[gambino95]

Originally Posted by Tha Hustla

There are 2 teams in the Eastern Conference that are even considered good this year, Celtics and Pistons. Golden State has lost 22 games and they are the 8th seed in the Western Conference so I see a much greater chance of two Western Conference teams.

If Portland has the record to make it to the Playoffs at the end of the season then of course I feel that they deserve it but as of right now I don't feel like they have done too much to be a Playoff team over Golden State or Denver. Yes, they have surprised a lot of people in the first half of the season but now they are losing to some of those bad teams in the Eastern Conference and they haven't been beating the teams that they need to be to make it to the Playoffs. (They just lost to Golden State tonight)

Either way, I would hate to see the Playoffs change like that even though I'm sure you feel that the Eastern Conference is so weak that some teams don't deserve to make it. I just think that maybe you should think about how the Philly and New Jersey fans would feel if their teams made the Playoffs. No Allen Iverson this whole year and they are a Playoff team, and all this Jason Kidd shit and New Jersey is in the Playoffs aswell. I think that both of them deserve to make the Playoffs in the Eastern Conference just as much as Portland deserves it in the Western Conference.

Ok, Ill get to ur opinion of Portland in a minute, because ur a little off in what you said about how they have handled this season and what they have done lately.

But lets get to the "fans" issue. If I think about how them East Coast fans would feel if they made the playoffs, Im sure Im thinking of how they will feel once they get swept out in 4 games, all of which are decided by more than 10 points. They are gonna fell like, "fuck, Id have rather had the Nets get a Lottery pick than a playoff embarassment." It would help the NBA as a whole if these teams got stronger, wouldnt it? Wouldnt it also help them rebuild faster rather than trading away the teams' only commodity to try and put a band-aid on a bullet wound?

I like the NBA playoff system, its not really that complicated, and the Conferences and Divisional lines are drawn to drive competition and rivalry. The problem is, in this polarized NBA, it allows mediocre teams to stay mediocre by letting them make the playoffs but not giving them a chance to get better. It also rewards mediocrity. Which brings me to the Trailblazers.

After losing their rookie superstar in the pre-season, they were worse than mediocre. They started the season 5 - 12, basically quitting before they started, and had all the reason in the league to just fold up and take a losing season in the teeth. Now they are 5 games out of the playoffs with 22 games left to play. Yes February was a rough month for them, but they just beat the Lakers, and Id say the Lakers are a team they gotta beat to get into the playoffs... especially since they play them 2 more times before the regular season is out.

So you see I am not saying that Portland or Denver deserves it more than Golden State. Props up to G.S... Im only saying that Portland AND Denver have done more to deserve a playoff birth than Philly or New Jersey.

The only reason they (or the Hawks, Pacers, or Bulls) have a chance is because they are in a Conference made up of CBA squads.

[ThaVirus215]

Sixers are better than New Jersey and can beat anybody on any given night if they play well.

[dadecountypimp23]

that is gay and Atl should be trying to win

[da~truth]

hell to da naw