NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave his version of the state of the league address during All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles on Saturday evening. The innovative commissioner touched on a ton of topics, including the Association considering drastically changing its playoff format.
It was previously noted that the NBA was looking into the viability of seeding playoff teams 1-16, regardless of conference. Silver now says it’s still under consideration with one minor caveat.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver: playoff seeding 1-16, regardless of conference, has been given serious consideration. Travel issues, i.e., multiple coast-to-coast series, are the biggest concern. Will continue to discuss
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) February 18, 2018
As Silver notes, there are logistical concerns here. Let’s say Golden State and Boston were matched up in one of the rounds. The travel time would be ridiculous. Based on the current standings, Denver and Cleveland would take on one another in the first round in this hypothetical format. How would that play out if the winning team were then have to travel coast-to-coast in its matchup in the next round?
It’s a darn interesting thing to look at. Whether this means the NBA is prepared to overhaul its playoff format here in the not-so-distant future remains to be seen. But it would surely add more intrigue to a postseason slate that seems to drag on forever these days.