I don't think we're going to have a lot of those in the West this year. Seeds 1-2, Rockets/Warriors, should be a marquee matchup. But seeds 3-9 are only separated by 3.5 games and that doesn't even include Utah who are in 10th but on a tear. The 3-8 seeds are going to be very competitive and I expect all series in the West (except early rounds against GSW and hopefully against Houston) will be very competitive. I don't think we're going to have a whole lot of sweeps this year, even in the East. Nobody can guess at who's coming out of the East now. There are good arguments for TOR, CLE, and BOS. But mostly, yeah, I want more games not less. We used to have less games with early rounds playing 5 game series' but I prefer the 7 game format for all playoff series'. Anything can happen in the NBA. Especially with the emergence of the 3 pointer it's much more feasible for a team to recover from a large deficit. I expect most playoff series' this year to be competitive and entertaining. And I definitely don't want to be robbed of any Rockets playoff games. If they sweep their early series', so much the better. That wouldn't be boring to me at all. That would be the opposite of boring for me. But if you're bored with NBA playoff games, you don't have to watch them all. You could just tune in when they were down to 3 or 5 games and manage your playoff experience in any way you like. I'm sure you'd rather change your own viewing habits than take games away from those that really enjoy them.
"Never underestimate the heart of a champion." We won our second chip as 6 seed. In the NBA almost anything can happen.
Key word was "tend to be". 8th seed has beaten first seed before, would you deny it's usually garbage series?
I respect your point of view. I think most of us knew what's going to happen in the playoffs. It's like watching a movie which you know how it's going to end right from the beginning. You can pretty much guess the process as well. Unlike March madness. There are numerous possibilities, almost anything can happen. It's highly unlikely for a less talented team to steal 4 wins. But 2 games? Quite possible.
I'm fine with some sort of play in, but don't agree with the #1 seed picking their first round opponent. At least, I wouldn't want to be in that position as the 1 seed.
Would you like a lottery system for the 7th and 8th seed teams? So the bounce of the balls determines who plays who?
I think it's great that more and more people are moving past the conferences. So antiquated. The idea of a play-in game too, fascinating. Frankly I think it would be great to start the playoffs with 29 vs. 30, one game rounds. Winner plays 28. Winner plays 27. Winner plays 26 all the way up to 16 being whoever was the winner of those games. Kind of like a pre-playoffs where everyone gets a chance, the superstar teams catch a break before a long winded playoffs and the TV deals get bigger. I think it gives every team a little bit of shine, a little bit of income and it would be fun to watch to see which teams go on runs and beat out other, better record teams. 16 team round need to be 3 game series. We don't need to see the Rockets or Warriors sweep a 4 game series. Also adds emphasis to the 8/9, 7/10 matchups. Those games would be ferociously played. Then the 8 team round, best of 5. Little more leeway. 4 teams, best of 7. Championship round, best of 9. Why the hell not? Maximum amount of games from the 2 best teams to end it in an extended brawl.
I think when a series is 3-0, it should just end there. I know there is still a chance that the team down 0-3 can still come back to win the series. But the odds are so slim that the possibility is just negligible. We all know that Game 4 of such a series is going to be boring. There is really no need to prolong a meaningless series. The extra game also increases the chances of injuries.
I’m not a fan of picking your opponent. Just play the teams in front of you. Why you would do this? Pick more favorable matchups. Downside: Get upset by said team with more favorable matchups for your team, would be the most unbelievable, most embarrassing, biggest disgrace that would never be lived down. Denver and Mutumbo upsetting the Sonics and Shawn Kemp is bad......the only thing worse would be hand picking that opponent. Playoffs are a game of adjustments. One strange adjustment that you do in the playoffs that you wouldn’t do in the regular season could be major. Sink one’s battleship.
The 1-8 series usually is. I don't agree the 3-6 matchup usually is but I'm just going from memory and my memory is rotten. This year though there are some really challenging teams bunched up at the bottom in the West. Jazz would give anyone trouble. So would NOP. If Leonard is healthy SAS will too. And nobody enjoys a better home court advantage than Denver because of the altitude. Note I didn't even mention OKC. So I think this year's playoffs are going to be much more entertaining than in the past. I think this year's 1-8 and 2-7 and 3-6 matchups will be very entertaining, in the West at least, even if they are sweeps. (The 4-5 match is almost always entertaining.) I think the underdogs will all mount a challenge in every series though because there are so many tough teams at the 3-10 seeds in the West and that will make for more interesting series' than in the past. The Spurs, the Wolves, and the Thunder could each be 3rd seed or 8th seed. It's that close. I think what you're saying has been true in past years. And I also think the West is pretty much a two-team league now with Warriors and Rockets clearly head and shoulders above the rest. But when I look at the 3-10 seeds in the West, I can see the potential for a lot of upsets. And if not upsets, certainly competitive games. Though Rockets and Warriors are the top two teams in the league both teams often struggle with the West teams currently seeded 3-10. I think it's going to make for the most exciting playoffs in a dog's age, especially in the West. Though the top three teams in the East are very competitive too and their second round matchups should all be very good. I don't think anyone can confidently pick any of Toronto, Boston, or Cleveland. They seem almost evenly matched, those three teams. And that makes the East interesting. So maybe in another year I would have been for the suggestion of shorter series in early rounds, this year I want as many playoff games as possible. Except in Rockets' series. Obviously I want us to go 16-0 on our way to our third chip.
