Report: NBA look to seed for Playoffs irrespective of Division titles
Possible new reform
Despite a monstrous and monumental effort from Russell Westbrook, Oklahome City Thunder with a 45-37 (.549) did not make the 2015 Playoffs after losing the season series with the New Orleans Pelicans, who they were tied with for the 8th spot in the West. Meanwhile in the East, two sub par teams with records below .500 made it to the post-season as the 7th (Boston Celtics, 40-42) and 8th (Brooklyn Nets, 38-44) seeds.
So the idea of merging the conferences to make sure the top 16 teams make it to the Playoffs was in hot demand during the first round. The NBA office might not have answered those demands but have taken baby steps towards making the Playoffs more competitive and deserving, in certain respects.
According to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt:
NBA moving forward w/plan to seed conference playoff teams 1-8 regardless of division winner starting in 15-16, per high-ranking NBA exec.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) June 25, 2015
Consequences of seeding according to new reform
Let’s take the example of the 2015 NBA Playoffs to explain the effect of this possible new reform. The new reform makes no changes to the Playoffs seeding in the East however in the East, there is a major shuffle from the 4th to 6th seeds.
| Seed | Old format | New format |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | Golden State Warriors |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | Houston Rockets |
| 3 | Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 4 | Portland Trailblazers | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | San Antonio Spurs |
| 6 | San Antonio Spurs | Portland Trailblazers |
| 7 | Memphis Grizzlies | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 8 | New Orleans Pelicans | New Orleans Pelicans |
Portland Trailblazers had finished with a record worse than that of the Spurs or the Grizzlies, yet on the back of the NorthWest Division title they were seeded 4th for the Playoffs.The new format will see the Los Angeles Clippers playing Portland Trailblazers in the first round, while the San Antonio Spurs would be playing the Memphis Grizzlies.
Despite the changes, the Clippers would have won and still gone on to play the Houston Rockets in the Conference Semifinals but what if the Spurs beat the Grizzlies, they would then go on to play the league-leading Golden State Warriors. Would Warriors have still won the NBA title?
In another case, what if Portland beat the Clippers?This year the rule changed just two match-ups in the West and left the East unchanged. Discarding the Division title rule, which keeps division champions in the top 4 seeds of the conference no matter what, awards seeds purely on the basis of the team’s regular season record. The new rule is being pushed to be implemented from next season itself.