Incoming commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA is “looking at everything” when it comes to making changes for the future. The first thing he needs to look at is changing the league’s playoff format.
When spring arrives and there are eight first-round series, we can guarantee that four are going to be lousy unless they go seven games; and four are going to be so compelling that we’ll all feel cheated if they don’t go seven games.
Of course, we are talking about the Eastern Conference playoffs in the first reference; the West playoffs on second reference.
And this is going to be a major problem ratings-wise, because many folks on the East Coast simply do not have the luxury of staying awake until 1 a.m. or later to catch the good stuff.
How to fix it? Cross-seeding is my idea, allowing for West teams to play East teams in the playoffs. Seed the teams 1 through 16, and go the rest of the way as though it is the NCAA tourney.
Travis Rodgers of KLAA Radio in Los Angeles had an idea of his own, and we discussed those proposals and took a quick swing around the league in this interview from Monday morning. Enjoy.