Adam Silver is planning to make adjustments to the NBA playoffs seeding system, wherein only the top 16 teams will participate, regardless of location.
NBC Sports reported that Silver was on the air on Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area to answer questions from NBA fans. One fan asked a question about the NBA changing its playoff system, to which Silver responded:
"Ultimately we want to see your best teams in the playoffs. And there is an unbalance and a certain unfairness. There is a proposal (from one of the broadcasters)... where the division winners would all automatically go into the playoffs and then you'd seed the next 10 best teams.
"I think that's the kind of proposal we need to look at. There are travel issues of course, but in this day in age every team of course has their own plane, travels charter. I don't think the discussion should end there.
"And as I've said, my first year I was studying a lot of these issues and year 2 is time to take action. It's something I'm going to look at closely with the competition committee. I do think it's an area where we need to make a change."
Primarily, Silver's plans prioritize the best teams in the league, since the traditional approach would give teams in weaker divisions a bigger chance to seed in the playoffs compared to better teams who belong in the same area. There will be drawbacks to the new system such as frequent traveling, scheduling and hindering regional rivalries.
Fansided reported that if the old system was used and the NBA playoffs happened immediately, the New Orleans Pelicans, which belong to the Western Conference, would be out of the postseason, because of their 26-23 record, but would seed at No. 6, if it were an Eastern Conference team.
Currently, Eastern Conference teams would have a much easier time playing against several weak teams and only go all out during the Conference Finals to have a spot in the playoffs.
If Silver's system were implemented, the Miami Heat could have faced a tough opponent such as the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns. When the defending champions San Antonio Spurs fought their way to the NBA Finals in 2014, the Miami Heat were well-rested by the time they faced the Spurs.
Bleacher Report wrote that although there are obstacles to Silver's plans, the NBA has to do some fixes. Otherwise, good teams like the Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder may be eliminated sooner than weaker teams in the Eastern Conference.