NBA Postseason Change Ideas

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Play-in games are a bad idea to me.

We are going to make teams that have a close to zero percent chance of winning a 7 game series against a top seed play extra games to get to that challenge?

There would have to be some kind of further incentive to winning a play-in series than just getting to face a Golden State or Cleveland.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Play-in games are a bad idea to me.

We are going to make teams that have a close to zero percent chance of winning a 7 game series against a top seed play extra games to get to that challenge?

There would have to be some kind of further incentive to winning a play-in series than just getting to face a Golden State or Cleveland.

I agree... tinkering with the playoff format doesn't fix tanking. They are thinking about it incorrectly. You have to take away the draft motivation for being bad. Some revenue from getting smoked in a play in game or playoff series isn't enough.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Hellua post

Thanks... think of it like a fantasy auction. Budget is allocated based on where you finished, but the difference isn't so severe that any team would ever consider intentionally losing to get a few more draft points.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I agree... tinkering with the playoff format doesn't fix tanking. They are thinking about it incorrectly. You have to take away the draft motivation for being bad. Some revenue from getting smoked in a play in game or playoff series isn't enough.

I think Locke said he would do the play-in series, but give a 5 million dollar trade exception for the next season to the teams who won the series.

 

[Ellipse]

Wasn't that made clear, tanking?

If you want to eliminate tanking, then take away the advantage gained by losing; make the draft order a 30-team lottery. Problem solved.




Or maybe the issue is a bit more complicated?

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Also, as far as anti-tanking ideas, I think the 2nd round should be an inverse of non-playoff teams records. Currently it's based on record, worst team drafting 1st in the 2nd round. Instead it should be the best non-playoff team drafting 1st in the 2nd round.

Combine that with the upcoming flattening of odds in next year's lottery, there might be more incentive to win games towards the end of the season than to lose.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

If you want to eliminate tanking, then take away the advantage gained by losing; make the draft order a 30-team lottery. Problem solved.




Or maybe the issue is a bit more complicated?

Holy **** that would be awful. Why would you want to open up the conspiracy theory floodgate when GSW get the first overall draft pick?

 

[fishonjazz]

Playoff format is fine, but I think taking the 16 best teams is better. The play in games kind of sounds fun. I wish they would abolish conferences for AS purposes. The game doesn't matter but the status clearly does. I think it is part of the reason Hayward left.

They want to do away with tanking, but no matter what they do 7-10 teams will have motivation to be bad. The new lotto format was supposed to fix it but I think it will may make it worse.

They should go to some sort of bidding system... you get allocated draft "space" based on where you finished in the standings and a bonus for making the playoffs. You can roll forward the "space" so if you are the worst team and the draft sucks you can choose not to bid your allocation for a terrible player. Could also trade the allocations to other teams (within a limit). Would help facilitate trades... a second round pick may not be valuable but getting some extra space would. This type of system would put more responsibility on good management and not luck. Would allow middle teams to get better by saving their space until they have enough to bid on a difference maker.

Helluva post

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I think Locke said he would do the play-in series, but give a 5 million dollar trade exception for the next season to the teams who won the series.

Most trade exceptions expire without being used. Not sure that would motivate me at all.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Also, as far as anti-tanking ideas, I think the 2nd round should be an inverse of non-playoff teams records. Currently it's based on record, worst team drafting 1st in the 2nd round. Instead it should be the best non-playoff team drafting 1st in the 2nd round.

Combine that with the upcoming flattening of odds in next year's lottery, there might be more incentive to win games towards the end of the season than to lose.

That might help but I doubt teams in the 7-10 range trying to get into the top 5 are dissuaded by losing a few spots in the second round where picks are sold for cash.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Can you imagine the ratings on draft night if every team's fan base thought they had a shot at getting a player they loved in the draft. People would be on pins and needles as the results of the auction are revealed player by player. Would be awesome to see Vlade blow his whole allocation on some unknown guy from his native country.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

That might help but I doubt teams in the 7-10 range trying to get into the top 5 are dissuaded by losing a few spots in the second round where picks are sold for cash.

Yeah, but some teams might be so far out of the bottom 3 that they might just try to improve their 2nd round pick?

IDK, I think it would work better if the odds were even flatter than the new upcoming change.

And even if it doesn't, I think it's nice for the teams who actually played relatively well. Maybe the play-in game can get the 1st overall pick in the 2nd round too.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

If you want to eliminate tanking, then take away the advantage gained by losing; make the draft order a 30-team lottery. Problem solved.




Or maybe the issue is a bit more complicated?

That's all we need is for the GSW's getting a top ten pick in multiple years, unless the NBA promises to give the jazz the first pick. Lol. Let the conspiracy theorist's run wild


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[LoPo]

I think the international soccer concept of everybody having a chance in the playoffs would really sell the product. Teams like Sactamento, Atlanta and Charlotte get absolutely zero coverage right now. Hell, they got their most coverage this year based off of who they would trade instead of on their actual performance. If they had a series, they would be in the spotlight for at least a week.

Right now, nobody cares about a 3rd of the NBA after Christmas. With an all participating playoffs, every team will have buzz. Sure, there will be some blowouts just like the 1 and 16 seed matchup of the NCAA tourney, but those games still get attention because everybody knows a 16 will beat a 1 eventually.

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[Ellipse]

Also, as far as anti-tanking ideas, I think the 2nd round should be an inverse of non-playoff teams records. Currently it's based on record, worst team drafting 1st in the 2nd round. Instead it should be the best non-playoff team drafting 1st in the 2nd round.

Combine that with the upcoming flattening of odds in next year's lottery, there might be more incentive to win games towards the end of the season than to lose.

I like the idea of reversing the 2nd-round draft order, which is a stand-alone tweak that helps, without creating new problems.

As far as solving the tanking issue, I think we should give the change already implemented a couple of years to see if it takes care of the problem before applying any more "fixes."

 

[LoPo]

Lets use England for example - lower teams get a massive pay day if they can advance in domestic tournaments. If the NBA can hold aside a certain amount of money per season win and per playoff win, teams will try. It will be more advantageous for a team to win for those payouts than lose in the hopes of winning a lottery.

In my opinion, there is no clear fix to tanking when it comes to the lottery. It comes down to other incentives. If a team gets a lesser portion of the TV money because they won 10 games and got swept in the playoffs, then so be it. If they cant and aren't winning, why should they make as much as a team that can?

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[Ellipse]

I think the international soccer concept of everybody having a chance in the playoffs would really sell the product. Teams like Sactamento, Atlanta and Charlotte get absolutely zero coverage right now. Hell, they got their most coverage this year based off of who they would trade instead of on their actual performance. If they had a series, they would be in the spotlight for at least a week.

Right now, nobody cares about a 3rd of the NBA after Christmas. With an all participating playoffs, every team will have buzz. Sure, there will be some blowouts just like the 1 and 16 seed matchup of the NCAA tourney, but those games still get attention because everybody knows a 16 will beat a 1 eventually.

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The biggest mistake the NBA could make is emulating the NCAA tourney. The Best-of-5 first-round format was dropped because the NBA didn't like a hot 8th seed beating a 1 seed in the first round.

 

[Ellipse]

That's all we need is for the GSW's getting a top ten pick in multiple years, unless the NBA promises to give the jazz the first pick. Lol. Let the conspiracy theorist's run wild


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Oh, so the issue isn't just tanking but also penalizing good teams for being good. Are there any more problems we are trying "fix", or is it just those two?

The problem statement needs to be clear or we may end up solving the wrong problem and making the current situation worse.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I'm telling you just giving draft points or some sort of allocation based on where teams finish would work to deter tanking... would add excitement and help teams in the middle. It would provide more hope to fanbases and NBA loves hope. Would provide a means to balance trades. Would also help teams get the guys they like and not just guys that fell to their range but were the BPA.

To get rid of intentional tanking you have to take away the tipping points. If bad teams are rewarded about the same as the teams around them in the standings then there is no reason to do shady things the league hates and that kill team culture.

 

[sgjazzfan]

Hard cap with no Max contract, rotating draft where you get the top pick every 30 years, but would get a top 5 pick every 6 years. Play every team 3 times. No divisions, no conferences. Top 16 make the playoffs.

I do like the 8 division games and 2 games vs every one else idea though. Division winners get the top 6 seeds and the other 10 best records maker the playoffs.