NBA Redistricting Option?

[e_blazer]

I don't think one could possibly come up with a system less sane than the present NBA Eastern Conference/Western Conference, multiple division mess. Portland being in the same division as Minnesota and Memphis?? Has anyone in the NBA office ever looked at a map? And you'd have to say that the whole Leastern Conference mess is a millstone around NBA marketing. Having only two decent teams in the East while the West has to leave out decent teams from the playoffs every year is pathetic.

I put together a map that shows what seems to me to be a more logical system. The map shows team cities by population density and also shows time zones.

Instead of the present system of 2 conferences with 3 divisions each, it seems to me that having just 4 divisions makes a lot more sense. The teams within each division would all be within one time zone of each other. The scheduling would provide for teams within each division to play each other 4 times each season. Eastern and Western teams would play each other twice, as they do now. Central and Southwestern teams would be scheduled with Eastern and Western teams 2 or 3 times as needed to fill out the same 82 game schedule. Each division would hold its own playoff involving its top 4 teams, From there the playoffs between the division would be determined by team record, with the Division champ with the best record playing the one with the worst and the 2 middle teams playing each other. The winners of those series would meet for the championship.

This seems to me like a system that would help build regional rivalries, reduce travel, and would result in a more interesting playoff format. I don't know if the NBA would ever think about changing its present system, but it's good for message board discussion. What have I missed here?

 

[KingSpeed]

Very well done, man. I like it.

 

[HailBlazers]

Brilliant!

Nice map e_blazer, think you're on to something.

 

[THE HCP]

Nice try, but I don't think there are mountains like that in the MidWest! #geography

 

[Boob-No-More]

Nice try, but I don't think there are mountains like that in the MidWest! #geography

You're such a fucking idiot (but I love you man). Those aren't mountains, they represent population density (aka: big cities). #brain, #commonsense

BNM

 

[Spud147]

I think we should just revise completely and make a northern conference and a southern conference. That way the bad teams are pretty evenly distributed between both conferences and it does a little better job of balancing out the amount of travel everyone has to do.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I don't think one could possibly come up with a system less sane than the present NBA Eastern Conference/Western Conference, multiple division mess. Portland being in the same division as Minnesota and Memphis??

Nice proposal, just one minor quibble. Memphis is not in the same division as Portland.

I do agree that it's ridiculous that we don't have another team in our division that's in the same time zone as us - and half our division "rivals" are two time zones away. That would be like Boston being in the same division as Denver and Salt Lake City.

BNM

 

[Nikolokolus]

It's logical, but with 30 teams (instead of 32) you end up with an unequal distribution in a 4 way split (7 and 8 teams respectively). Maybe that doesn't matter, but it seems like it could create a competitive imbalance when it comes to scheduling.

Either way, I do agree that some kind of realignment makes sense.

 

[THE HCP]

You're such a fucking idiot (but I love you man). Those aren't mountains, they represent population density (aka: big cities). #brain, #commonsense

BNM

#ItsCalledAJokeFAMS!

 

[PtldPlatypus]

It's logical, but with 30 teams (instead 32) you end up with an unequal distribution in a 4 way split (7 and 8 teams respectively). Maybe that doesn't matter, but it seems like it could create a competitive imbalance when it comes to scheduling.

Eliminate the Kings and the HornCats, and that issue disappears.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Eliminate the Kings and the HornCats, and that issue disappears.

Or the Blazers too I suppose?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Or the Blazers too I suppose?

No. Blazers are good. Those franchises have problems

 

[Nikolokolus]

No. Blazers are good. Those franchises have problems

Charlotte hasn't been much of a draw, but Sacramento has a pretty dedicated fan base. Can't imagine the NBA contracting that team right after the big push to get a new arena and keep the team in town.

 

[e_blazer]

Nice try, but I don't think there are mountains like that in the MidWest! #geography

Jeez, man, get a clue. it's a map of cup size by city.

 

[e_blazer]

It's logical, but with 30 teams (instead of 32) you end up with an unequal distribution in a 4 way split (7 and 8 teams respectively). Maybe that doesn't matter, but it seems like it could create a competitive imbalance when it comes to scheduling.

Either way, I do agree that some kind of realignment makes sense.

I agree that 28 or 32 teams would be neater, but I'm not sure it matters that much. Adding a team in Seattle and no king Denver to the Southwest would solve part of that issue.

 

[e_blazer]

I think we should just revise completely and make a northern conference and a southern conference. That way the bad teams are pretty evenly distributed between both conferences and it does a little better job of balancing out the amount of travel everyone has to do.

I considered that idea, Spud, but time zones run north and south. Too many logistical problems.

 

[e_blazer]

Nice proposal, just one minor quibble. Memphis is not in the same division as Portland.

BNM

Yeah. brain fart there. I meant OKC.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I agree that 28 or 32 teams would be neater, but I'm not sure it matters that much. Adding a team in Seattle and no king Denver to the Southwest would solve part of that issue.

I agree with the broader premise, but I think there's probably a way to retain a six division split.

Based on this in your original post:

And you'd have to say that the whole Leastern Conference mess is a millstone around NBA marketing. Having only two decent teams in the East while the West has to leave out decent teams from the playoffs every year is pathetic.

The real goal is to restore competitive balance through realignment. Unfortunately this would only put a temporary Bandaid on the problem; there's a sort of hidden side effect of years of the lottery system at play here. Somewhat paradoxically, because the bottom 7 teams in the East and the West get slotted into the lottery, a lot of the time teams in the East with worse records than many Western non-playoff teams are going to the playoffs and pick later than "better" teams. Over time there's a cumulative talent drain favoring the West as teams with near .500 records pick 12th - 14th and .400 teams end up slotted 15-19th.

Slot teams according to their record and reduce the lottery pool down to the 5 or 6 truly awful teams and I think you'd see competitive balance restored over time. Tanking might still be a problem, but there's gotta be a better way than the current system.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I read somewhere someone arguing that the US doesn't need 4 timezones and that two makes a lot more sense. Combine that plan with your redistricting and the world is a better place.

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

I've gone through this so many times for years and it's something that I don't get at all, as to why the conferences have not been adjusted to stop screwing Portland. Why the 5 team in the Pacific time zone are not in the same division is complete BS.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Charlotte hasn't been much of a draw, but Sacramento has a pretty dedicated fan base. Can't imagine the NBA contracting that team right after the big push to get a new arena and keep the team in town.

Yeah, I say we just eliminate the Lakers and Knicks. No city should have more than one team. So, just eliminate the worst team in the cities with more than one team.

BNM

 

[SheedSoNasty]

I think we should just revise completely and make a northern conference and a southern conference. That way the bad teams are pretty evenly distributed between both conferences and it does a little better job of balancing out the amount of travel everyone has to do.

Think of all the time changes that teams would have to go through with that though.

 

[Stevenson]

I think by "Southwest Division" you mean "Southeast Division."

 

[Run BJM]

Yeah, I say we just eliminate the Lakers and Knicks. No city should have more than one team. So, just eliminate the worst team in the cities with more than one team.

BNM

I would love to watch a 7 game series to decide which of the two shittiest franchises get eliminated.

 

[Strenuus]

I would love to watch a 7 game series to decide which of the two shittiest franchises get eliminated.

Hunger Games: NBA Edition.

The cross-promotion of that would be sickening.

 

[e_blazer]

I think by "Southwest Division" you mean "Southeast Division."

You tell the Texans that they're in the southeast. Maybe we just go with Southern Division.

 

[THE HCP]

I read somewhere someone arguing that the US doesn't need 4 timezones and that two makes a lot more sense. Combine that plan with your redistricting and the world is a better place.

I find it amazing that China only has 1!!

 

[maxiep]

Totally sound and logical. For that reason it would be immediately dismissed by the powers that be.

 

[Draco]

I like the idea of playoffs with 4 division winners that get to the "conference" finals. There would have to be 32 teams to do this, so give Seattle an expansion franchise and Mexico City or Vegas one as well.

They should change the lottery so ping pong balls are used for all 32 draft picks with the worst teams getting the most balls but not as many as the current system. The best team would only get one ball. That would drastically reduce tanking if instead of the worst team having a 25% chance of the first pick they had an 8% chance.

 

[Draco]

Winning one of those division banners today in your proposed system would be more impressive than all those first titles the Celtics started winning in the 60's. Back then there were only 8 teams in the NBA and some of them were basically low payroll Washington generals.