It's no secret that the Atlantic division is the weakest division in the NBA. Right now, The Knicks are 9-9, and they lead the division by one and a half games. The closest division leader to them has 3 more wins than they do. Like I said....weak. So, the question I'd like to throw out there is: Will the Atlantic Division champ finish with a below .500 record? Whether it's NY, Boston, Philly, or Toronto, does anybody forsee any of them breaking .500 after 82 games? I know it's early, but if the playoffs were today, The Knicks would face the Pacers (a team with a better record) and the Knicks would have the home court for the series. Is the new 3 division system a flawed one? Will the 6, 7, or even 8th seed have a better record than the 3rd? If, in fact, something like this were to happen, should the league look into a new system? Your thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks.
When the playoffs come around, I think it's inevitable that some teams, both from the Eastern and Western conference, will be seeded 2nd or 3rd in front of other teams with better win-lose records. It's not so much of a problem out in the West as it is in the East. I think the top team of the Atlantic Division will hover around .500 in the end but I wouldn't be surprised if they fall below that. It's very possible and it's a shame that they are still highly rewarded for basically just being in the right place geographically. Since its inception this year, I've never been a fan of the fact that divisional champions automatically earn one of the top 3 playoff spot. While I understand that rewarding and recognizing those divisional champions is necessary, I think this system is, to put it bluntly, retarded. Like 44Thrilla said, it doesn't make sense that a .500 team such as the Knicks earn a 3rd seed in the playoff along with the precious homecourt advantage against an elite team like the Pacers or possibly even the Pistons! When (notice I didn't say if) this situation happens, the league should definitely look into a new system. My suggestion is that if you want to reward the division champions somehow, granting them an automatic playoff berth with respect to their win-lose record is a fair solution. Under that system, let's say New York finish on top of the Atlantic Division with a 40-42 record and Milwaukee from Central Division finish with the 8th best record in the East with 42-40. Milwaukee will not make the playoffs in this situation and it's quite unfortunate, but as long as the league wants to maintain a conference/division difference in playoff seeding, I believe this is the best solution. Ideally, we all want the playoff teams to be ranked based on their winning record regardless of divisions and conferences. However we must take into account the fact that teams play their conference foes twice as much as the other conference. As long as that is the case I don't think the pitch to make playoff seeding based solely on winning record will ever materialize.
I think, especially in the weak East, below .500 can get home court. Last year the Heat got it and they were only 2 games above .500 (42-40), so it's almost happened as is. But, there's no doubt that it could happen. With the new division layout, something like that is bound to happen, in particular because of the Atlantic division. We'll figure it all out as the season unfolds, but I think it's very possible.
SupraJames presents some nice facts. I agree with Moo2k5 though. I could see it happening. Yeah, it's kind of sad. If it doesn't hapen this year, it's bound to happen soon unless the NBA does something about it. And if the playoffs did start today, that would definitely not be good for the East.
