Power Rankings: One-and-done to get in? Out of sight
March 10th, 2010 Posted in NBA basketball newsThere are those who don’t care for “Championship Week” in college hoops. Mostly, they go by this name: NBA fans.
I prefer to call them something else: Jealous.
History tells us that when NCAA tournament bids are on the line in a one-and-done format, people will watch. Millions of people. “Championship Week” is so popular, the NBA would be crazy not to learn from it.
So, here’s my plan:
Let’s give everyone a chance to make the NBA playoffs, just as the NCAA gives every little guy a shot at the Big Dance via conference tournaments.
In the NBA’s case, it would be division tournaments. Five-team, single-elimination events, hosted by the regular-season champs, that would punch the first six tickets into the NBA postseason.
You’d start with the fourth- and fifth-place teams squaring off on opening night, with the winner returning 24 hours later to tackle the No. 1 seed in the second half of a rare NBA doubleheader. The second- and third-place clubs would open the semifinal card.
The two second-day winners would meet on the third night for the playoff spot.
Six automatic qualifiers would get to Tweet “We are the champions” and then join 10 at-large clubs, picked by a selection committee, in the playoffs.
Before you laugh (is it too late?), think of the advantages.
First off, you’d give March and April a meaning for every team in the league, as opposed to the unglorified exhibitions currently on display. Teams would have to win one quarter of their regular-season games (21) to earn a spot in the division tournament, giving such long-lost sq on a nightly basis.
There’d be no missing out on the playoffs by one game because a division champ laid down against your competitor for the last playoff spot on the final night of the regular season. With division tournaments, every team determines its own fate.
And because we’ve adopted an at-large selection process, we’ve trashed the embarrassing concept of losing Eastern clubs getting into the postseason while vastly superior Western teams don’t. As a result, the playoffs get stronger right from the get-go.
Division tournaments also would serve another purpose similar to their conference counterparts: They would sound an exciting alarm for fans who dozed off watching meaningless games sometime after Thanksgiving dinner. The playoffs are coming. The playoffs are coming.
Power Rankings
CurrentTeamPrevious1Cavaliers · Trends1Win over Spurs is Cleveland’s first without LeBron James in last 10 absences. … Just like old times: Antawn Jamison scores big, but teammates come up short vs. Bucks.2Lakers · Trends2Bully on you: Michael Jordan gets best of Phil Jackson as Lakers stumble in Charlotte amid three-game skid. … Ron Artest sends international message (on his head): Defense.3Magic · Trends3Finals rematch has different ending: Kobe Bryant misses, Magic prevail. … Dwight Howard gets 14th technical foul; perennial champ Rasheed Wallace now just two up.4Nuggets · Trends4Firing on another cylinder: Johan Petro grabs 10 boards in first start of season. … Playing both ends: Carmelo Anthony stops Kevin Durant’s streak of 20-point games at 33.5Mavericks · Trends5New face: Rodrigue Beaubois goes 22-24 in first two games following Jason Terry’s orbital surgery. … Twelve and counting: Nets, Knicks next two to face streaking Mavs.6Jazz · Trends6Good news about this week’s four-game trip: Rest of schedule features a number of cupcakes. … That’s more like it: Mehmet Okur averages 25.5 points in wins over Suns, Clippers.7Celtics · Trends10Old get older: Celtics see something Spurs don’t, sign Michael Finley. … Never been worse: Kevin Garnett shoots 0-for-7 in win over Wizards.8Hawks · Trends7The best of Mike Bibby: He scores 23 in triumph over Golden State. … The worst of Bibby: He contributes one point, one assist in loss at New York.9Suns · Trends8Consistency paying off: Only losses in past month are to Mavericks, Spurs, Jazz. … Put a 30 on it: Amar’e Stoudemire tallies exactly 30 six times in 14-game stretch.10Thunder · Trends9Like being on vacation: Up-and-coming Oklahoma City has won seven of last nine on the road. … Out of nowhere: Serge Ibaka emerging as powerful presence off bench.11Spurs · Trends11Back for the playoffs: Tony Parker breaks hand, likely out rest of regular season. … Club in good hands: George Hill drops in 23 in near-win at Cleveland.12Trail Blazers · Trends12Time to move up in the standings: Kings (twice), Warriors, Wizards are among next five foes. … You think Greg Oden is injury-prone? Joel Przybilla slips in shower, reinjures damaged knee.13Bucks · Trends13Message received: Coach calls out Brandon Jennings, who responds with 25 in win over Cavaliers. … Streaking Bucks getting lift from Carlos Delfino.14Bobcats · Trends16Heat is on: Charlotte faces Miami twice in rugged eight-game stret Bobcats have beaten them seven of last nine.15Heat · Trends20Later, Rafer: Benched Alston leaves team; not coincidentally, Miami making move up standings. … Dwyane Wade goes double-double (points-assists) in wins over Warriors, Lakers, Hawks.16Raptors · Trends15Painful nonetheless: Chris Bosh returns from seven-game absence in home loss to 76ers. … ‘Sonny’ disposition: Weems injecting life into troubled Raptors backcourt.17Grizzlies · Trends19Scratch that: Zach Randolph’s back acting up at just the wrong time. … D-League deportee Hasheem Thabeet (3.2 blocks per game) swats way back into big leagues.18Rockets · Trends14Homecoming nightmare: Rockets suffer in Carl Landry’s impressive return to Houston. … Reason for optimism with playoffs slipping away: Four of next six vs. Eastern clubs.19Bulls · Trends17Bad news: Bulls go 0-4 with Joakim Noah resting sore foot. … Worse news: Star center out two more weeks as schedule gets even tougher.20Hornets · Trends18Thank goodness for the Warriors: Defensively challenged Hornets give up 131 points, still win. … Only question left this season: Can Chris Paul and Darren Collison coexist?2176ers · Trends21Sad final chapter: NBA retirement is least of Allen Iverson’s problems now. … A sliver of sunlight: Thaddeus Young enjoys career night in win at Toronto.22Kings · Trends23Trading up: Club makes old pal Kevin Martin look bad in win at Houston. … Kings schedule rally to remind everyone: Tyreke Evans is clear Rookie of Year choice.23Pistons · Trends27Club endures scary moment as Rodney Stuckey collapses in Cleveland. … Stuckey’s replacement, Will Bynum, posts double-double in overtime win over Rockets.24Clippers · Trends22Club on losing streak embarks on rough week: At Magic, Heat, Bobcats, Spurs. … Baron Davis (remember him?) quietly gaining on NBA assist leaders.25Wizards · Trends24Al Thornton doing best Antawn Jamison impression by posting big numbers in (mostly) losing efforts. … No Caron Butler: Josh Howard succumbs to knee injury four games into Wizards career.26Knicks · Trends28Turn on the lights: Knicks shoot 0 for 18 on 3s in 20-point loss to Nets. … It’s getting old: Tracy McGrady sits out vs. Hawks. Official reason: ‘Soreness.’27Pacers · Trends26Troy Murphy averages 10.5 rebounds in winless, four-game Western swing. … Healthy Danny Granger regains distinction as top 10 NBA scorer.28Warriors · Trends25Stephen Curry goes 8 for 23 in Charlotte homecoming. … Andris Biedrins (torn abdominal muscle) becomes fourth Warrior to have season-ending surgery.29Timberwolves · Trends29Rest does him good: Al Jefferson pours in 36 in return vs. Mavericks. … Only win in past month: Feb. 23 shocker at Miami.30Nets · Trends30Things looking up: Woeful Nets win three straight on the road. … Now the bad news: After pair of wins head-to-head, no more games left against rival Knicks.
