CRICKETS AND KETTLE DRUMS
The bpisports.com column WHERE THE
GLASS IS ALWAYS HALF-EMPTY
#7
- 2-3-BOO
BY TREVOR
W. RILEY
JUNE 13, 2010
This is one
of the only times you'll see me retread an article/topic, but I assure you this
is timely and appropriate. Game 5 of the
NBA Finals should be in Los Angeles, period.
Never should the lesser, lower-seeded team play more home games than the
higher-seeded team at any point in a playoff series because it shifts the home
court advantage (HCA), albeit briefly, to the less deserving team at the
series' most pivotal moment. Even if the
higher-seeded team won the series 100% of the time in a 2-3-2 format, I would
still speak out against it, because its not as fair as
the 2-2-1-1-1 format that the NBA uses in all its other series.
If the
50-win Celtics defeat the 57-win Lakers tonight because of the slightest HCA
boost, who's under more pressure from here on out, the team that has to win one
game out of two on the road, or the team facing elimination that has to win two
of two games at home? I'll leave you to
ponder that as I take you back in the time machine to June 22, 2008 when I first
ranted about this in the Lindenwald Ledger. Here's a special shout-out to Chris Vogt and
all of the guys at the Ledger, may you all get this up
and running again soon...
http://www.homesbyrmt.com/ledger/articles/06.08/ledge_062208_1.htm
By Trevor W. Riley
Lindenwald Ledger
Contributing Writer
Sunday, June 22, 2008
|
We all knew the storylines of the
2008 NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers rivalry renewed, Kobe Bryant v. the Big
Three, Phil Jackson pursues his 10th NBA Championship. They all had a
common theme — they were overblown, overhyped
and overanalyzed. Practically nobody was discussing the merits of the 2-3-2
NBA Finals format. The 2-3-2 playoff format is
inherently flawed, it gives the team with the worse win-loss record an
opportunity to play more home games in a series, and that should never
happen. All the "away" team has to do is steal one game on the
road, win their three home games, and they're organizing championship parades
before you know it. The Detroit Pistons (2004)
and Miami Heat (2006) earned their NBA titles in that
fashion, but under different circumstances. Detroit stole game 1
in Los Angeles over the Lakers, then won games 3, 4
and 5 at home. Miami won their three home games, then
traveled to Dallas to defeat the Mavericks in the sixth and deciding game. Detroit and Miami are the
only teams to have won their three home games since the inception
of the 2-3-2 NBA Finals format in 1984. Recent history, however, makes
this fact less staggering. In 2005, the Detroit Pistons were
a Robert Horry 3-point dagger away from winning their three Finals home
games. Just last week, the Lakers were a historic collapse away from
defeating Boston three games in a row in Los Angeles. The 2007 NBA
Finals are a wash because the San Antonio Spurs were clearly superior to King
James and his Cavaliers. The "away" team's
undeserved advantage seems to have become more prevalent over the last five
seasons, barring those two memorable losses. The "home"
teams would much rather be tied 2-2 going back home for game 5 than being
down 3-2, going home for an elimination game 6. The 2-2-1-1-1 format is just fairer.
It’s what the NBA uses throughout all their playoff rounds except the
Finals. To change formats for the final round, seemingly because of
extensive east-west travel just doesn't make sense. Theoretically, a team could travel
more in a 2-2-1-1-1 intra-conference series (i.e. New Orleans v.
Seattle) than in a 2-2-1-1-1 inter-conference series (i.e. Chicago v.
Minnesota) if both series go the entire seven games. The travel
concerns are a moot point; the NBA has a two-week slot to fairly layout its
NBA Finals schedule, why not do so in the most consistent manner? Mr. Stern, while you're reviewing
the rules and regulations of your league this offseason,
please strongly consider changing the NBA Finals format so that
it operates fairly and justly to all participants — 2-2-1-1-1 or sigh... |
Well that's
a wrap for column 6, episode 7 of CNKD.
If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, or other feedback,
feel free to send them along via email to cnkd2010@aol.com. There's 7 down and 999,993 to go. Peace.