The NBA may be on its way back, now how do you crown a champion? Andrew Hammond has some options.
The NBA will be coming back in 2020, at least that is what the league is pushing forward as talks continue to progress and it seems further and further that we’ll get the site at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, FL.
So, how should the NBA complete their season?
When the league stopped play in mid-March, they were just weeks away from entering the 2020 NBA Playoffs. So, it’s not like the need to complete the regular season is paramount (especially if you’re out of the race). What about the remaining 20 or so teams? What do you do with them?
There are many things you need to take into consideration when crafting this:
-Smart
-Efficient
-Avoid increased chances for positive tests
-Still garner ratings
There are three options that the NBA should consider, here is a detailed look at each of them.
Option One: The Traditional Option
Playoff Format: Standard East/West Format
Series Format: 7-7-7-7
Go with what works best and has worked best, right?
I know there’s been talk of making new formats for the playoffs this season (more on that later). Instead of getting weird in 2020, why not go with what works and has been working for the longest time?
If you’re going to have all the teams in the league descend upon Orlando for at least two to three weeks maximum, then you might as well set a five-game schedule to settle the seeding and then move forward with a postseason. Keeping the standard playoff format satisfies the broadcast partners and gives the sense of normalcy in the most unusual of circumstances.
Option Two: The 1-16 Seed Format
Playoff Format: Seed the playoff teams 1-16, bypassing East/West brackets
Series Format: 3-5-7-7
The talk of seeding the playoff teams 1-16 is nothing new, it’s been talked about on and off for the last decade, so why not use 2020 as a test balloon for it? This is also a way to shorten the season and not have teams who would be far from playoff elimination not make the trip. You could even make it more interesting and have 20 teams involved. Have a series of single-elimination games to determine Seeds 13-16 and then begin the playoff.
The series format is another thing that is not new to the NBA. In the 1970s, the NBA used a three-game first round format and starting in 1984 the league went to a five-game series format.
With the covid-cloud hanging over the league, this adds some efficiency to completing the season but also adds drama to the first two rounds. Picture it, LeBron James and the Lakers pushed to the brink in the first round of the playoffs. That’s going to grab big time ratings.
Using the top 16 teams at the time the NBA began their stoppage of play in March, this is what the first round would look like.
No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 16 Orlando Magic
No. 8 Miami Heat vs. No. 9 Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 13 Dallas Mavericks
No. 5 Boston Celtics vs. No. 12 Philadelphia 76ers
No. 6 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 11 Indiana Pacers
No. 3 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 14 Memphis Grizzlies
No. 7 Utah Jazz vs. No. 10 Houston Rockets
No. 2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 15 Brooklyn Nets
Each matchup now, and the rounds moving forward are more intriguing and won’t feel like any series is wasting time, especially since the NBA is working against the clock.
Option Three: The World Cup format
Playoff Format: 16 teams placed into four groups, top two teams in each group advance to a knockout stage.
Series Format: Single game elimination at the knockout stage.
This format is bold, a most-likely one off plan but also would be a ratings bonanza and the sports story of the summer. The NBA settles their season in a World Cup-style tournament. The Ringer made the bold case for this plan recently and after some back and forth on it, I too endorse this option.
However, I raise the stakes a little more. How about you turn it into a knockout round starting at the quarterfinal stage?
It checks off all the boxes in terms of efficiency, avoiding more tests turning up positive and would be a ratings giant. The issue is would everybody be on board with the plan.
Much like the first option, you could use the eight teams that would be fighting for the last four spots and have them play into the groups. That covers your ratings on the front end as well as the back end, hello Grizzlies vs. Pelicans for a spot in a group stage. You never knew you needed Ja Morant vs. Zion Williamson for a spot in the playoffs, did you? You’re Welcome.
Here is what group stages would look if you took the top 16 teams at the time of the NBA’s stoppage. The results were randomly generated, much like the standard World Cup draw.
Group A
Bucks
Heat
Thunder
Grizzlies
Group B
Clippers
Celtics
Rockets
Magic
Group C
Lakers
Jazz
Sixers
Nets
Group D
Raptors
Nuggets
Pacers
Mavericks
Each team plays each other once like in the World Cup and uses the same point system for each win or loss (+3 for win, 0 for a loss). In case of a tiebreaker, use total points scored in group play.
From there, you go to the knockout round and each game becomes paramount, win or go home. Here is what the knockout stage format looks like.
Quarterfinal
Group A Winner vs. Group B Runner-Up
Group B Winner vs. Group A Runner-Up
Group C Winner vs. Group D Runner-Up
Group D Winner vs. Group C Runner-Up
Semifinal
QF 1 Winner vs. QF 2 Winner
QF 3 Winner cs. QF 4 Winner
NBA Championship
SF1 Winner vs. SF2 Winner
A strange year has brought this unprecedented step for the NBA. Whatever option is taken out of these three, or something else you just hope that everybody remains safe and the 2020 season can be completed in the safest manner possible.
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 2:00 PM.
