By now, it’s no secret that I’m a huge NBA basketball fan. The playoffs are an especially exciting time, featuring games that leave audiences on the edge of their seats and series that leave us pondering the possibility of an epic upset of a title favorite.
When I was a kid, watching the playoffs in the ‘90s was thrilling. Back in those days, NBA games were broadcast by NBC and game intros were highlighted by the music of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock,” a track that can get anyone amped up for anything and lives on in sports music lore.
These days, the postseason is vastly different. Ever since he first round transitioned from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven in 2003, some of the mystique has vanished as the eventual outcome has become somewhat predictable. Indeed, the postseason has changed, but probably not for the better.
The biggest issue with the NBA postseason is that it lasts too long. The players are already playing a ton of games during the regular season (82 to be exact) and teams now have to win 16 games instead 15. It does not appear that the regular season will be reduced anytime soon, which leaves players more prone to injury. Adding 16 more playoff games really increases the wear and tear on their bodies. This can lead to more injuries, and it could be particularly detrimental to the league if a superstar player suffered a season-ending injury as that could drain a playoff series of its intrigue.
Having a longer postseason can also make playoff series more predictable as it generally favors higher-seeded teams and makes for more lopsided outcomes. This is especially the case with the 1-8 matchup. Look at this year’s series between Milwaukee and Detroit. The Bucks swept the Pistons 4-0 and the games were not even close.
Several ideas to resolve this issue have been proposed, but the most logical solution would be to reformat the length of this first round. While we have seen memorable seven-game first-round series (like the Celtics-Bulls matchup in 2009), the opening round was a lot more intriguing when teams only needed to win three games to advance. The NBA should consider bringing back that format as it will allow players to save more of their energy. Also, even if a playoff series is a blowout, at least this format will make it less torturous for the losing team as well as the fans.
Let’s take it one step further: how about making the first round a best-of-three? While we are at it, let’s reduce the second round to a best-of-five. Under this format, teams will only have to win 13 games to win the NBA Championship. This would actually help ratings by reducing the number of bad games and helping the league to avoid overstaying its welcome. This would also be logical because the conference finals and the championship rounds are the ones that fans really pay attention to.
There are other things the NBA can do to bring back the intrigue the postseason once had, but shortening playoff series is a good start. It could turn out to be the best thing the league can do for both players and fans, and it could still generate a ton of revenue. The ball is in the NBA’s court. Let’s hope they make the playoffs exciting again.
The problem is the lack of every-other-day games. Just watch them go 3 days between games when the finals starts.