No Balance of Power in the NBA: Trend or Problem?

The Golden State Warriors' record this season is 48-33. The Atlanta Hawks record is 37-43. If I were to ask which team is going to the playoffs, and which team will be waiting on ping-pong balls in the June draft lottery, the answer seems obvious enough. The Warriors won more games and must therefore be the better team, and the playoff team.

Ah, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. While the Warriors have had the misfortune to compile their better record against vastly superior competition in the Western Conference, the Hawks have stumbled to what, in most years would be a disappointing record, in the far less challenging Eastern Conference. And yet, even with a sub .500 record, the east is so terrible that the Hawks are the team destined for the playoffs. The Warriors, on the other hand, are already home for the summer.

This situation has sportswriters and fans across the country crying out for a change. How, they wonder, can an inferior team like the Hawks be allowed to play in the playoffs, and therefore accumulate many millions more in revenue, while a much more worthy team is left without an opponent? Worse yet, because the Hawks are in the playoffs, they will have a lower draft pick. NBA talent is typically marginal after the lottery, and given the Hawks' weak drafting history, there seems to be little hope for them to ever improve. Meanwhile, the Warriors will likely pluck one of the blue chip prospects out of the draft, improve their team, and add to the sustained dominance of the Western Conference. Surely, the NBA should restructure its playoff format to accommodate the Warriors. As a matter of fact, the Portland Trail Blazers also have a better record than Atlanta, so let's put them in the playoffs too, and we could drop Philadelphia, who at 40-41 are slightly inferior to the Blazers.

I completely understand that sometimes there is a need for change in a sport. The NFL is far better off now that the divisions have been realigned more logically (how New Orleans was ever put in a West Coast division is beyond me). And Major League Baseball has also benefited from both realignment, which allows the immensely popular Yankees-Red Sox rivalry to play out twenty times a year, and from changing the playoff format to allow four teams from each league to participate instead of simply playing a World Series between the Pennant winners from each league.

But, to change the longstanding infrastructure of a league simply because one decade has been marked by a league of parity is a little drastic. Every professional sports league goes through periods of unbalance. Major League Baseball was dominated by the National League in the 1970s and then the American League this past decade. The NFL was dominated by the NFC in the 1990s and now the AFC this decade. That's what makes sports special. Teams have the opportunity, under strong leadership and with a little luck, to build dynasties. Of course no one wants to see a 48 win team get left of out the playoffs in favor of a 37 win team, but that is part of the unpredictable nature of the sport. The fans in Atlanta haven't seen their team in the playoffs in 8 years. They must deserve it just as much as the fans of the Warriors.

For the remainder of the post, I will include two responses I've written to articles on this subject. The first comment is regarding an article entitled, "In the Playoffs, May Only the Best Teams Play," by Frank Deford on NPR. Frank discusses an alternative to the current playoff system in which the NBA adopts something more like March Madness. My second comment is a response to Chris Clarke's article, "East and West Work Fine, Thanks." Chris makes some very good points about the need for the NBA to stay the current course. You can find my response to Chris's article after my comment on Frank Deford's.

"In the Playoffs, May Only the Best Teams Play"

Frank, thanks you for your insight. Nearly everything you point out in your article rings true on so many levels. The current lopsided state of the NBA (as well as the NFL and MLB) is ridiculous. I've been waiting my whole life to see the Celtics in the playoffs, with an actual chance to win the Championship. But, now because of a terrible Eastern Conference I'm supposed to watch them open against the Hawks. PUH-lease. Give me ESPN Gamecast and I'll turn the game on if it gets close.

Something does need to be done. What? I can't say for certain. I definitely like the idea of a Round Robin playoff system, as you propose, however, as is the case with most other options, it all comes down to bringing in money. A round robin playoff system, would be great for the fans, but we have to remember that this league ultimately revolves around making money. And all the people in the world watching an exciting playoff series won't make up for the money from ticket sales and television that would have been made in those lost games.

I wish I could offer a better, more cost effective suggestion. To be honest though, I'd like it if the league went a step further. I think the biggest problem right now is that there are just too many damn teams. Back in the 70s and 80s, the league was so great because teams were DEEP. The Celtics and Lakers were literally overrun with not just All Stars, but future Hall of Famers. Now, where are we? The team with a so called "Big Three" has one sure bet Hall of Famer (Kevin Garnett) and two maybes.

If there were fewer teams, which will never happen, think of how exciting each season would be. No longer would we have to suffer through watching the Mark Madsens of the world, or seeing sub-.500 teams in the playoffs. It would only be the best of the best in a more competitive, more compacted league. I know I'm only dreaming here. Leagues have swings over decades. It's been proven through time. Someday, the East will rise again and it will be the West that everyone is lambasting. So I guess the only thing we can do is deal with it.

East and West Work Fine, Thanks

I completely agree, Chris. I’ve read a lot of articles on this subject this season, and they all eventually bring me back to the same conclusion. While it would be great if the NBA could somehow realign or restructure the league or playoffs, we have to accept that this kind of maneuver just isn’t realistic. Besides the fact that the NBA isn’t willing to give up a red cent of the money generated by the current system, changing the league around might not necessarily have such a beneficial effect anyway.

I’ve suggested in comments to other posts, and in my own blog, that the best way to make the NBA more balanced, and therefore more competitive and exciting, would be to make the league smaller. Simply put, fewer teams equals fewer bad players. But this kind of drastic change is impossible. Besides the fact that it would alienate the cities whose teams are disbanded, it would severely cut into the profits of the NBA. Sure, it would make for an exciting league. But excitement is only part of the sports watching experience.

Because that’s what the NBA is. The Experience. Mark Cuban has been an innovator who has helped change the NBA into what it currently is. It’s not just watching your favorite team. It’s feeling like you are a part of that team. Changing the playoff format would not just take away from the natural rivalries, it would basically be a slap in the face of every fan who considers himself a part of his teams’ magical playoff run at 38-44. I know I sound sarcastic here, but it’s the truth. If the NBA wants to market itself as an experience, then it needs to stay loyal to that promise.