Thread: Mark Cuban proposes 20 team playoff system

http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/795402

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a magic bullet solution for the NBA's problems.

Cuban sent out a message on Cyber Dust on Thursday which proposed a 20-team playoff system wherein 10 teams would qualify from each conference.


Cuban argued that more teams making the playoffs would make it more difficult to tank. His system would include a bye for the top seeds while the bottom seeds play an abbreviated five-game series.

That's going to produce more shitty series, though.

Yeah, that's not the answer. The answer for the NBA is either dumping or re-doing conferences so that you actually get the 16 best teams in instead of having a 48 team from the West miss the playoffs while a 38 win team from the East gets in.

Originally Posted by King87

That's going to produce more shitty series, though.

10 teams per conference

1st 2 seeds get 1st round bye

1st round match ups:
3rd vs. 10th (should be worse than 3rd vs. 6th)
4th vs. 9th (should be worse than 4th vs. 5th)
5th vs. 8th (should be better than 1st vs. 8th)
6th vs. 7th (should be better than 2nd vs. 7th)

2 1st round series should be better & 2 should be worse.

I think a 20 team LEAGUE is a better idea.

Originally Posted by Jaded

I think a 20 team LEAGUE is a better idea.

Hmm, can't say I really agree with that one. I don't think there are 10 cities that deserve to lose their NBA team.

How about a 10-team playoff in the Western Conference and a 6-team playoff in the Eastern Conference?

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

Hmm, can't say I really agree with that one. I don't think there are 10 cities that deserve to lose their NBA team.

Not that any of them deserve to lose their franchise, it's that there's not enough talent to go around. It's too watered down and the top players gobble up too much of the pie. The product sucks.

The Knicks will still be eliminated by mid-November.

Originally Posted by Jaded

Not that any of them deserve to lose their franchise, it's that there's not enough talent to go around. It's too watered down and the top players gobble up too much of the pie. The product sucks.

That sounds nice in theory, but in reality if you were to implement that, 1/3 of NBA cities lose their teams, and thus you cut the fanbase and revenue of the league pretty significantly as well. While yes there is a dilution of talent with 30 teams, it's the lesser of two evils when choosing between that or chopping the league by 1/3.

This would make the league a worse product, especially the playoffs. Sorry BW but realignment isn't the answer either. What happens when the balance of power shifts? Just keep realigning the league every few years?

Time to institute salary controls. Salary minimum and caps, etc.

Originally Posted by Davii

This would make the league a worse product, especially the playoffs. Sorry BW but realignment isn't the answer either. What happens when the balance of power shifts? Just keep realigning the league every few years?

Time to institute salary controls. Salary minimum and caps, etc.

I'm not suggesting realignment. I'm suggesting totally nuking divisions/conferences altogether. What purpose do they serve in the NBA anymore? With 82 games every team can play each other and there can be balanced schedules anyway, so what do conferences and divisions add to that?

It's not like the NFL where there are only 16 games and taking away divisions would end some rivalries.

This way you don't have to keep realigning things, because each team plays more or less the same schedule every year and you just take teams 1-16 for the playoffs every season. This solves the playoff issue the NBA currently faces and it has zero downside.

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

I'm not suggesting realignment. I'm suggesting totally nuking divisions/conferences altogether. What purpose do they serve in the NBA anymore? With 82 games every team can play each other and there can be balanced schedules anyway, so what do conferences and divisions add to that?

It's not like the NFL where there are only 16 games and taking away divisions would end some rivalries.

This way you don't have to keep realigning things, because each team plays more or less the same schedule every year and you just take teams 1-16 for the playoffs every season. This solves the playoff issue the NBA currently faces and it has zero downside.

Got you. I'm sure there's a downside somewhere, I don't know what it is though. Ask Mark Cuban. Anyhow, if the NBA wants parity they need to institute salary controls.

Originally Posted by Davii

Got you. I'm sure there's a downside somewhere, I don't know what it is though. Ask Mark Cuban. Anyhow, if the NBA wants parity they need to institute salary controls.

Yeah, no argument there.

Cuban seems to toss out these ideas any time his Mavs can't escape the first round.