No more 3rd(I mean 4th) seed for winning the Atlantic

[PhoSita]

How does fixing seeding issues make the regular season less important?

If anything, it makes winning games in the regular season mean more, because it's harder for weaker teams to get into the playoffs and get higher seeds.

I don't get the argument for shrinking the playoff field, either.  The playoffs are more fun.  I'd rather reduce the number of games in the regular season and create a play-in tournament for the lower seeds.  Increase the number of meaningful games, don't decrease them!

[LHR]

Because if you put things like byes and more home games at stake, teams would be far more inclined to take the regular season seriously.  For many teams like the Spurs, it's nothing but an 82 game pre-season.

[greece66]

TP good find (albeit disappointing).

[D.o.s.]

Dumb rule.  The NBA regular season continues to mean less and less which is the primary issue with the NBA.  It's a six-week sport to the common sports fan.  There are no long-standing rivalries as there are in every other sport because regular season games don't mean anything therefore - local rivalries cannot be formed.

This I agree with. I can't say the same fro the rest of your post.

[celticsclay]

Because if you put things like byes and more home games at stake, teams would be far more inclined to take the regular season seriously.  For many teams like the Spurs, it's nothing but an 82 game pre-season.

I really wonder if the Spurs may adjust their view of the regular season after their slacking got them a first round brutal matchup. I get you can make the argument that they would have had to play the clippers eventually. However, if they got Portland or Dallas in the first round maybe they are able to get their playoff groove on a little bit more.

[greece66]

Does it still guarantee a playoff spot though? (or did it ever?)

Yes and yes.

That's right although I can hardly imagine a team winning its division and not being able to get at least 8th seed in its conference.

Anyway, personally I am sad to see this tradition go.
It added complexity to the rankings rather than a simple arithmetic of who won more games, made some games extra meaningful, and created local rivalries.

Fairness is good but it is not all there is.

[PhoSita]

If you want local rivalries to mean anything, you'd need to change the schedule to skew more toward division opponents.

Example:

You play everybody outside your division once away and once at home.  25 x 2 = 50 games.

The remaining 32 games are divided evenly among your 4 division opponents -- 4 home and 4 away.

That means you play division opponents 8 times and non-division opponents twice.  There are your rivalries.  Cue the crying from teams in divisions that are notably stronger than others, a la the NFL.

[Forza Juventus]

Just put all the teams in one conference ffs. The current system is unfair for the western conference. There should be much more pressure on the nba to change it. It makes no sense and is embarrassing. This isn't the old days when it was hard to fly across the country and stuff.

[SparzWizard]

I already made a thread on this last Thursday right before the draft lol. So merge I guess!

But yeah, it's kinda bad for the Atlantic but good for the rest of the NBA. Now if the Celtics win the division, they are not guaranteed to be as high as the 4th seed. But of course, if they have such a good record, then they deserve to be seeded high in the playoffs.

[SparzWizard]

Only the 2010 Celtics squad can win games on the road in the playoffs easily lol. Ah, how i missed those times!

So if you're all for health and stuff, then go aim for that 4-8 seed! But better start winning games without home court advantage lol.

[furball]

Someone needs to explain to me the point of having divisions then.  Just get rid of them and go East and West.  They are completely meaningless except to unbalance the schedule (they do that right??) 

[Hemingway]

If you want local rivalries to mean anything, you'd need to change the schedule to skew more toward division opponents.

Example:

You play everybody outside your division once away and once at home.  25 x 2 = 50 games.

The remaining 32 games are divided evenly among your 4 division opponents -- 4 home and 4 away.

That means you play division opponents 8 times and non-division opponents twice.  There are your rivalries.  Cue the crying from teams in divisions that are notably stronger than others, a la the NFL.

That would punish the fan- me. I don't want to have to watch 8 Celtics 76ers games a year.