3afan
02-19-2006, 11:19 AM
Playoff format is put on agenda
Stern doesn't want changes, but will leave issue open to discussion
02:07 AM CST on Sunday, February 19, 2006
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
HOUSTON – No one can assure that the Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will meet in the playoffs.
But the probability of that encounter – and the fact it would take place in the second round – has NBA officials starting to question whether the system is flawed.
The plight of the top teams in the Southwest Division wasn't a front-burner issue at a meeting of the league's competition committee. But deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the committee will gather information about the seeding format and place the topic on its agenda in June.
"My view is that there are just a lot of anomalies that come into play when you talk about playoff pairings, particularly in the first rounds," Granik said. "I think the concern this year is because we have two teams in the West that seem to be way ahead of everybody else."
The Mavericks lead the Western Conference with a 41-11 record. The Spurs are next at 40-12. The Phoenix Suns trails the Spurs by five games in the standings.
If the season ended today, the Mavericks would land the No. 1 seed under the current format. The Suns would be No. 2 and Denver, with a record of 28-26, would be the No. 3 seed. Both of those teams would be seeded ahead of San Antonio because they won their divisions.
"Obviously, there will be issues, no matter what the system," commissioner David Stern said. "I'm sort of disinclined to change it, but we're going to get the data, and maybe something will emerge from a little data mining that will suggest that we have it all wrong, or a little bit wrong, and then we'll make the change."
Any potential change in format would not take place until the 2006-07 season.
The most likely alteration, Granik said, would be to take the three division winners, the nondivision winner with the best record and seed those teams one through four based on record.
Stern doesn't want changes, but will leave issue open to discussion
02:07 AM CST on Sunday, February 19, 2006
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
HOUSTON – No one can assure that the Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will meet in the playoffs.
But the probability of that encounter – and the fact it would take place in the second round – has NBA officials starting to question whether the system is flawed.
The plight of the top teams in the Southwest Division wasn't a front-burner issue at a meeting of the league's competition committee. But deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the committee will gather information about the seeding format and place the topic on its agenda in June.
"My view is that there are just a lot of anomalies that come into play when you talk about playoff pairings, particularly in the first rounds," Granik said. "I think the concern this year is because we have two teams in the West that seem to be way ahead of everybody else."
The Mavericks lead the Western Conference with a 41-11 record. The Spurs are next at 40-12. The Phoenix Suns trails the Spurs by five games in the standings.
If the season ended today, the Mavericks would land the No. 1 seed under the current format. The Suns would be No. 2 and Denver, with a record of 28-26, would be the No. 3 seed. Both of those teams would be seeded ahead of San Antonio because they won their divisions.
"Obviously, there will be issues, no matter what the system," commissioner David Stern said. "I'm sort of disinclined to change it, but we're going to get the data, and maybe something will emerge from a little data mining that will suggest that we have it all wrong, or a little bit wrong, and then we'll make the change."
Any potential change in format would not take place until the 2006-07 season.
The most likely alteration, Granik said, would be to take the three division winners, the nondivision winner with the best record and seed those teams one through four based on record.