Spring Break
NBA Should Rework Playoffs
Zac Boyer
Issue date: 4/24/06 Section: Sports
Perhaps the best way to determine a national champion is in the NCAA, where the men's and women's basketball tournaments are as simple as "win or go home." The only drawback is that the top teams may never make it all the way to the championship game, as evident this season, when none of the No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four and the championship was won by No. 3 seed Florida.
And of course, we're all familiar with the debacle known as the BCS in college football. This year is one of few when the two best teams in the nation made it to the championship game, but there have also been situations where, like in the 2004 season, USC, Oklahoma and Auburn all went undefeated. USC went on to top Oklahoma in the championship game, while Auburn, who many viewed as the strongest team, was left to toil in the Sugar Bowl.
Then, of course, there's the method of figuring out who is the worst team and who deserves to have the top pick in the entry draft after the season. While the NFL and MLB simply go in reverse order of finish, the NBA and NHL have instituted a draft lottery, where the teams that don't make the playoffs have a chance to obtain the top pick by random chance. This is a chance to make sure teams don't tank at the end of the season to obtain the next rookie phenom, which, in some cases, has drawn questions to whether or not the lotteries are fixed.
There may not be a great way to determine who is the champion and who is the worst team in any given year, but the NBA is going to have to change their system if the best teams are going to truly have the best shot.
comments@zacboyersports.com
And of course, we're all familiar with the debacle known as the BCS in college football. This year is one of few when the two best teams in the nation made it to the championship game, but there have also been situations where, like in the 2004 season, USC, Oklahoma and Auburn all went undefeated. USC went on to top Oklahoma in the championship game, while Auburn, who many viewed as the strongest team, was left to toil in the Sugar Bowl.
Then, of course, there's the method of figuring out who is the worst team and who deserves to have the top pick in the entry draft after the season. While the NFL and MLB simply go in reverse order of finish, the NBA and NHL have instituted a draft lottery, where the teams that don't make the playoffs have a chance to obtain the top pick by random chance. This is a chance to make sure teams don't tank at the end of the season to obtain the next rookie phenom, which, in some cases, has drawn questions to whether or not the lotteries are fixed.
There may not be a great way to determine who is the champion and who is the worst team in any given year, but the NBA is going to have to change their system if the best teams are going to truly have the best shot.
comments@zacboyersports.com
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