|
We all knew the storylines of the 2008 NBA
Finals: Celtics-Lakers rivalry renewed, Kobe Bryant v. the
Big Three, Phil Jackson pursues his 10th NBA Championship.
They all had a common theme — they were overblown, overhyped
and overanalyzed. Practically nobody was discussing the
merits of the 2-3-2 NBA Finals format.
The 2-3-2 playoff format is inherently
flawed, it gives the team with the worse win-loss record an
opportunity to play more home games in a series, and that
should never happen. All the "away" team has to do is steal
one game on the road, win their three home games, and
they're organizing championship parades before you know it.
The Detroit Pistons (2004) and Miami Heat
(2006) earned their NBA titles in that fashion, but under
different circumstances. Detroit stole game 1 in Los
Angeles over the Lakers, then won games 3, 4 and 5 at home.
Miami won their three home games, then traveled to Dallas to
defeat the Mavericks in the sixth and deciding game.
Detroit and Miami are the only teams to have
won their three home games since the inception of the 2-3-2
NBA Finals format in 1984. Recent history, however, makes
this fact less staggering.
In 2005, the Detroit Pistons were a Robert
Horry 3-point dagger away from winning their three Finals
home games. Just last week, the Lakers were a historic
collapse away from defeating Boston three games in a row in
Los Angeles. The 2007 NBA Finals are a wash because the San
Antonio Spurs were clearly superior to King James and his
Cavaliers.
The "away" team's undeserved advantage seems
to have become more prevalent over the last five seasons,
barring those two memorable losses. The "home" teams would
much rather be tied 2-2 going back home for game 5 than
being down 3-2, going home for an elimination game 6.
The 2-2-1-1-1 format is just fairer. It’s
what the NBA uses throughout all their playoff rounds except
the Finals. To change formats for the final round,
seemingly because of extensive east-west travel just doesn't
make sense.
Theoretically, a team could travel more in a
2-2-1-1-1 intra-conference series (i.e. New Orleans v.
Seattle) than in a 2-2-1-1-1 inter-conference series (i.e.
Chicago v. Minnesota) if both series go the entire seven
games. The travel concerns are a moot point; the NBA has a
two-week slot to fairly layout its NBA Finals schedule, why
not do so in the most consistent manner?
Mr. Stern, while you're reviewing the rules
and regulations of your league this offseason, please
strongly consider changing the NBA Finals format so that
it operates fairly and justly to all participants —
2-2-1-1-1 or sigh... |
