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Quit debating and just change the NBA playoff seeding rules already

By Keith Parish

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 17: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks onstage during the All-Star Press Conference at Staples Center on February 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 17: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks onstage during the All-Star Press Conference at Staples Center on February 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Despite the NBA taking a week hiatus for the All-Star break, the news cycle continued to churn. Much of that was by design, although some clearly was not. Among the league-intended talking points was Commissioner Adam Silver floating the idea of seeding the playoffs with the 16 teams with the best records, regardless of conference.

There really shouldn’t be any debate about this. Put the top teams in the playoffs! Scheduling extra travel days for any matchups that are cross-country can be accomplished during the already interminably long NBA playoff schedule. Are we forgetting that the first three rounds already take over six weeks? And a team like the Grizzlies in the Western Conference has already dealt with playing multiple series against Pacific time zone teams?

To explain why there are other reasons this proposal is a no-brainer, James Holas (@snottiedrippen) joins the newest episode of Fastbreak Breakfast. James is a contributor at BBallBreakdown.com and a ubiquitous presence on NBA Twitter. He also weighs in on the following subjects:

  • Is any form of “play-in tournament” into the playoffs worth consideration?
  • What fall-out should there be for the Mavericks scandal and Mark Cuban’s bizarre claims that they didn’t fire Earl Sneed so Sneed couldn’t go out and “do it somewhere else”?
  • Has a rift formed between the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard? Is there something bigger at play with all of the quizzical reports coming out of San Antonio?
  • After stumbling over their last 15 games, will the Celtics regain their footing after the All-Star break? Could Boston benefit from a #MooseBoost?

All Fastbreak Breakfast episodes are also available for download on iTunes and Soundcloud.

Original music provided by Codaphonic and New Man

Next: The final word on NBA All-Star weekend

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