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My Thoughts on Improving the NBA

Here is my suggestion for the Sacramento Kings saga… the NBA should expand to 32 teams and here is my supporting rationale.  (My apologies ahead of time if these ideas are recycled.)

 

The Kings stay in Sacramento, and 2 expansion teams are created.  The first is awarded to the Seattle group and they regain the Sonics brand.  The second is awarded to another market to be determined.  For the sake of this post, I’ll say St. Louis (21^st largest television market in the U.S.). 

 

The 32 teams would be divided into 16 team conferences, East and West as it is today.  Within each conference there would be 4 divisions consisting of 4 teams each.   By having more and smaller divisions you can adjust scheduling and playoff seeding to create more intense rivalries among division members which should improve attendance and ratings. 

 

Scheduling works nicely with this set up and an 82 game season. 

 

Intra-Division Scheduling: Each team would be required to play the other teams within its division 6 times, 3 at home and 3 away.  2 of these games would be a back-to-back, home-away where the team would play at home against a division rival and then the next night would be played on the road against the same rival.  Later in the season both teams would play another back-to-back series, but the home-away games would be reversed.  The other 2 games between the two teams would be played within the regular scheduling confines.  Intra-Division Games = 18 games per season.

 

Intra-Conference Scheduling: Each team would be required to play the other teams within its conference (excluding intra-division teams) 4 times, with 2 games on the road and 2 games at home.  There are no other stipulations for these games.  Intra-Conference Games = 48 games per season.

 

Opposing-Conference Scheduling:  Each team would be required to play the teams within the opposing conference 1 time per season.  Half of the games would be played at home and the other half would be played on the road.  To create equity within the division, all teams within the same division would play at home against the same opposing conference teams and all would play on the road against the same opposing conference teams.  As an example, the Pacific and Northwest Divisions would play at home against the Atlantic and Southeast Divisions, and would play on the road against the Midwest and Great Lakes Divisions.  The River and Southwest Divisions would play at home against the Midwest and Great Lakes Divisions, and would play on the road against the Atlantic and Southeast Divisions.  Opposing-Conference Scheduling = 16 games per season.

 

Scheduling Totals

Intra-Division Games                      18

Intra-Conference Games             48

Opposing-Conference Games    16

Total                                                      82

 

This set-up could also allow for a change in playoff seeding which would further establish team rivalries and garner fan interest and ratings. 

 

Playoff Qualification:  To qualify for the NBA Playoffs the team would have to have either the best or second-best overall record within its division.  If 2 or more teams have the same record, tie-breakers would be granted using the following criteria in order of significance:

·         Intra-Division record

·         Intra-Conference record

·         Point Differential

 

Playoff Seeding – First Round:  The First Round of the postseason would have the top 2 teams within each division playing a 7 game series against one another.  The format would be 2-2-1-1-1, and the home advantage would be awarded to the team with the best overall record.  If the teams have the same record the following criteria would be used to determine home advantage in order of significance:

·         Record between both team matchups during the season

·         Intra-Division record

·         Intra-Conference record

·         Point Differential

The winner of the First Round would qualify for the Second Round, and the losers’ seasons would be over.

 

Playoff Seeding – Second Round: The Second Round of the postseason would have the First-Round winners seeded by overall record.  The team with the best record would be the 1 seed, and the team with the lowest record would be the 4 seed.  The format would be 2-2-1-1-1, and home advantage would be awarded to the higher of the 2 seeds.  If 2 or more teams have the same overall record the following criteria would be used to determine seeding in order of significance:

·         Intra-Conference record

·         Intra-Division record

·         Record against other conference playoff teams

·         Point Differential

The winners of the Second Round series would qualify for the Conference Finals, and the losers’ seasons would be over.

 

Playoff Seeding – Conference Finals: The Conference Finals would be played between the winners of each conference’s second round series.  The team with the higher seeding would be awarded home-court advantage.  The format would be 2-2-1-1-1.  The winner of the series would qualify for the NBA Finals, and the loser’s season would be over.

 

Playoff Seeding – NBA Finals: The NBA Finals would be played between the winners of each Conference Finals series.  The format of the series would be 2-3-2.  The team with the best overall record would be awarded home-court advantage during the series.  If both teams have the same overall record the following criteria would be used to determine seeding in order of significance”

·         Regular season regular against playoff teams of both conferences

·         Record against all opposing-conference teams

·         Intra-conference record

·         Intra-division record

·         Point Differential

The winner of the NBA Finals would be the NBA Champions for the season.

 

The change in playoff seeding would also require a change in the NBA Lottery and NBA Draft order process.

 

NBA Lottery: The NBA Lottery would be used to determine the teams who would be awarded the first 3 draft picks in the NBA Draft.  The only teams to qualify for the NBA Lottery would be those teams with the worst record in their respective divisions; only 8 teams would vie for the Lottery.  Lottery odds would be determined using the following criteria in order:

·         The combined overall record of all teams within the team’s division.  The team which plays in the division with the best combined record would be awarded the most lottery balls, and the team which plays in the second-best division would be awarded the second most lottery balls.

·         If 2 or more divisions have the same combined overall record, then the overall record of the individual lottery teams would be considered.  The team with the lower overall record would be awarded more lottery balls than the team with a better overall record.

·         If 2 or more teams have the same record, and both teams play in divisions with the same combined overall record, then the team with lower intra-division record would be awarded more lottery balls than the team with the better intra-division record.

By awarding lottery odds based upon the combined overall record within the division, the NBA would increase the talent of the worst team within the toughest division, giving the team greater chances at competing for the playoff seeding within the division in the future.  It also sends the message that tanking at the end of the season will not increase your odds of winning the lottery.

 

NBA Draft Order: The NBA Draft order would be determined after the NBA Lottery winners have been selected.  NBA Lottery winners would be awarded selections 1, 2, and 3.  The rest of the Lottery-qualifying teams would then draft in order using the criteria which was used to determine lottery odds.  These teams would draft selections 4 through 8.  Selections 9 through 16 would be assigned to the remaining non-playoff teams.  Selection order would be determined using the same criteria used to determine Lottery odds.  Selections 17 through 24 would be assigned to playoff teams which lost in the first round of the playoffs.  Selection order would be determined by overall record, with the team with the lowest record awarded the 17^th selection and so on.  The following criteria would be used to determine draft order for playoff teams if 2 had the same overall record:

·         Intra-Division record

·         Intra-Conference record

·         Point Differential

Selections 25 through 28 would be assigned to playoff teams which lost in the second round of the playoffs.  Selection order would follow the criteria used for Selections 17 through 24.  Selections 29 and 30 would be assigned to the playoff teams which lost in the Conference Finals.  Selection order would follow the criteria used for Selections 17 through 24. Selection 31 would be assigned to the team which lost in the NBA Finals, and Selection 32 would be assigned to the team which won the NBA Finals. 

 

Here is how I would divide up the divisions which 2012-2013 records in paranthesis:

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic

Boston (41-40)

Brooklyn (49-33)

New York (54-28)

Washington (29-53)

 

Southeast

Atlanta (44-38)

Charlotte (21-61)

Miami (66-16)

Orlando (20 – 62)

 

Midwest

Chicago (45-37)

Indiana (49-32)

Milwaukee (38-44)

Minnesota (31-51)

 

Great Lakes

Cleveland (24-58)

Detroit (29-53)

Philadelphia (34-48)

Toronto (34-48)

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Pacific

Golden State (47-35)

Los Angeles Clippers (56-26)

Los Angeles Lakers (45-37)

Sacramento Kings (28-54)

 

Northwest

Denver (57-25)

Portland (33-49)

*Seattle (N/A)

Utah (43-39)

 

River (Note: I dislike this name, but I’m not a marketer)

Memphis (56-26)

New Orleans (27-55)

OKC (60-22)

*St Louis (N/A)

 

Southwest

Dallas (41-41)

Houston (45-37)

Phoenix (25-57)

San Antonio (58-24)

 

The following is a rough guestimate of how the 2012-2013 Playoffs and Lottery would be determined.  Records are determined by looking at the actual results from the 2012-2013 season and extrapolating the data to determine individual game results.  This is completely unscientific and objective.  If you don’t like my results, feel free to come up with your own using the structure outlined in the article.  Expansion team records were baseless guesses using historic data of expansion team records.  Once again, this is meritless data, to provide a representation of  Playoff structures and Draft Orders using the suggested division alignment outlined above.

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic

Brooklyn (55-27) *2 Seed

New York (51-31) *4 Seed

Boston (43-39)

Washington (29-53)

 

Southeast

Miami (62-20) *1 Seed

Atlanta (46-36) *6 Seed

Charlotte (26-56)

Orlando (25-57)

 

Midwest

Indiana (54-28) *3 Seed

Chicago (47-35) *5 Seed

Milwaukee (41-41)

Minnesota (33-49)

 

Great Lakes

Toronto (36-46) *7 Seed

Philadelphia (35-47) *8 Seed

Detroit (32-50)

Cleveland (30-52)

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Pacific

LAC (53-29) *5 Seed

Golden State (44-38) *7 Seed

LAL (43-39)

Sacramento (29-53)

 

Northwest

Denver (55-27) *4 Seed

Utah (37-45) *8 Seed

Portland (33-49)

Seattle (21-61)

 

River

OKC (62-20) *2 Seed

Memphis (57-25) *3 Seed

New Orleans (30-52)

St Louis (24-58)

 

Southwest

San Antonio (64-18) *1 Seed

Houston (44-38) *6 Seed

Dallas (37-45)

Phoenix (34-48)

 

The winners in the process are Toronto, Philadelphia, and Utah who make the playoffs with losing records.  The losers are Boston, Milwaukee, and LAL, who disagree with this format because they had better records than the previously mentioned teams.  This becomes less of an issue when you consider Boston is the only team which competed in the playoffs among the losers. 

 

Here is how the Lottery odds would play out with the pseudo-season records and alignment in my example.

Overall Division Records:

 

Southwest (179-149, 54.6%)

Atlantic (178-150, 54.3%)

Midwest (175-153, 53.4%)

River (173-155, 52.7%)

Pacific (169-159, 51.5%)

Southeast (159-169, 48.5%)

Northwest (146-182, 44.5%)

Great Lakes (133-195, 40.5%)

 

Using this info the following teams would be considered for the Lottery in ascending order based upon greatest odds of winning the lottery.

 

1.       Phoenix

2.       Washington

3.       Minnesota

4.       St Louis

5.       Sacramento

6.       Orlando

7.       Seattle

8.       Cleveland

 

Here is the rest of the draft order for the non-playoff teams.

 

9.       Dallas

10.   Boston

11.   Milwaukee

12.   New Orleans

13.   LAL

14.   Charlotte

15.   Portland

16.   Detroit

 

It is worth noting that those teams with winning records, yet missed the playoffs will likely end up with higher draft seeding. This is to increase the talent on the those teams and help them compete in their relatively more talent-filled divisions. 

 

This system isn’t perfect, but I think it would create some excitement for the fans and eliminate some of the complaints people have with tanking teams, and a pre-determined first round of playoffs. If anything, it provides a breath of fresh air for the NBA.

Dear Guinness,

I love celebrating milestones with you.



Can we skip a few decades into the future, and have you do a pre-pre-pre-release of your 300th anniversary brew?

Keep up the good work!

Dear Converse/Nike,

I know its been awhile since you've seen these, and maybe you never wore a pair yourselves, but these were the second best shoes you've ever produced.



Bonus points if you ever consider the All Star 2000's with the ice blue sole.

Thanks in advance!

Dear Toyota Motor Company,

I would like to remind you of the heart you once had...



Not that you should stop making your lovely family sedans and pick up trucks (everyone needs to get paid), but could you at least have some fun outside of the Scion brand? Pretty please.

I Left My Heart in Portland

I just finished a much needed, long weekend in Portland, Oregon with my wife. While I've always been a fan of Portland because of its beauty, history, basketball team, and my family connections to the city. Throughout my life I've visited at least ten times, but most of the time spent in the suburbs like Tigard or Beaverton, and always with the purpose of spending time with my grandparents.

In the early fall I made a decision to finally see a Portland TrailBlazers game at the Rose Garden for the first time, and thankfully the NBA schedulers came through for me by arranging competitions between the home team and the despised Lakers and impressive Cavs on the same weekend. It was an obvious no-brainer to snag some tickets and convince my wife that I could be trusted with financial decisions in the future. However, with no family left in the area the weekend was all about the fascinations and whims that we had. Without getting into some of the minutia of the trip, here are some of the things that I really loved about the Rose city.

The Portland MAX is an example of efficient public transportation, one that I wish was duplicated in most cities, but especially Sacramento. We didn't need to use a car once during our 3.5 days in Portland, got on the light rail at the airport, and got off downtown at the city center. It was very reasonable to ride all day, more so if I had realized that riding downtown was free. Whoever planned the MAX had the foresight to think, "These routes should stop by the places where people gather the most." Apparently this is a novel idea on the west coast. So when we travelled to the arena, it was a quick 10 minute ride and we were on the doorstep of the Rose Garden.

The Pearl District seems to be modeled after a hidden corner of my mind, because as I was walking through the neighborhood at night, I felt at home. Not like this would be a cool place to be, but really like this is the kind of neighborhood I aspire to live in. Its close to everything (see above paragraph). From my understanding its the product of an effective remodernization plan (take note Sacramento politicians). Its got walking, parks, and eateries right at your doorsteps. The architecture is well inspired, and everyone we ran into was either courteous or nice. Bravo!

I posted this on Twitter, but I've got to show a little love to three establishments. First, is Powell's Bookstore. Go here -> http://www.powells.com If the Mall of America is for shoppers, then Powell's is for readers. You can spend all day there and still not feel like you had enough time. Second, is the Rogue Public House where the beer and food are both exceptional. The variety of beers available to choose from was uplifting, as I finally got to sample some different flavors that aren't available at the local BevMo. The food was delicious, and made me regret not going back for another meal. The last place of mention was Living Room Theaters. Every city should offer the combination of good food, a full bar, and small, comfortable viewing rooms as a counterpoint to the huge megaplexes in suburbia. This is a must if you're looking to get off your feet for a few hours in the afternoon.

I know I'll be back, but maybe not soon enough. Next time will have to be in the spring or summer so that I can again visit the Japanese Garden. Maybe I'll take the wife to the coast and Astoria along the way. To really cap off the trip, I'm considering spending 3 or 4 days in Seattle. Be forewarned Seattle, your neighbor to the south has raised the bar. In the meantime though, stay classy Portland!

How do you celebrate a 250th anniversary?

Most couples would be lucky to make it to a 20th anniversary, and I'm sure many wouldn't know how to celebrate such an occasion. Hell even America hasn't been a country for 250 years. So how is it that Guiness knew exactly what they wanted in order to honor two and half centuries of brewing?

If you haven't tried it, and by this point in time you may not get another opportunity, Guiness 250th Anniversary Stout is gift to me and you. It's the perfect stout, and should be how all other stouts are measured. It blends a smooth flavor and slightly smokey taste with something as smooth as water.

I'm not the best at describing beer flavors and intricacies (working on it), but words probably couldn't do it justice anyway. What you should know is that it is hard to come by in Sacramento, and you should try to find some. If you do find some though, let me know so I can buy a few cases or pallets.