Could the NBA adopt a World Cup style of play for the playoffs? And if so, what would it look like for the Boston Celtics?
In a recent article for The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor breaks down exactly that, reporting that it is one format the NBA is exploring — even if there is likely going to be enough resistance from team owners to make such an adoption unlikely.
The proposal would eliminate a traditional first round in place of the approach, which would group the league into five tiers based on regular season record.
Those tiers would each send one team randomly to one of four groups, and those groups of five teams would play each opponent twice.
There is some support in the league office for the NBA to have a World Cup style “group stage” replace the first round of the NBA Playoffs, sources say.
Here’s my case for why the NBA, teams and players should agree to resume this year with a group stage: https://t.co/sv8YKmY5O0
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 26, 2020
The teams with the two best records would then advance to a typical best-of-seven series for the second round, comprised of the usual eight franchises.
Teams would be drawn from the current 16 teams that would qualify for the postseason with the standings as they are now, as well as the four clubs with the next-best records (the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs).
O’Connor envisions a tier system that would look like so:
Tier 1: Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, Clippers
Tier 2: Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz, Heat
Tier 3: Thunder, Rockets, Pacers, Sixers
Tier 4: Mavericks, Grizzlies, Nets, Magic
Tier 5: Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs
And a random group draw that would put Boston with the Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and the Spurs.
Not exactly ideal for a tune-up for the Celtics, likely one of several reasons such a move is unlikely to get much support, particularly from the weaker Eastern Conference.
While there are means that could be used to address the longstanding imbalance between the two conferences, the risk of such an approach becoming institutionalized is undoubtedly another.
The exercise may be a moot point as a result — and Boston fans aren’t likely to lose any sleep over dodging what could otherwise be a brutal start to the postseason.
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