What's Wrong With: The NBA/NHL Playoffs

(New weekly segment in which I discuss what I think is wrong with something. Many of my friends think I'm really good at this. Just ask me about Michael Phelps and/or "Rudy".)

Since I've been here in Augusta, I've done a lot of complaining about the way the high school playoff system works here. In football. it allows teams with records like 2-8 or 3-7 to somehow still make the playoffs over more deserving teams that may be 7-3 or such. And since basketball postseason hasn't rolled around yet, I'm not sure how that works but what I do know is that unlike Ohio, not everyone makes the playoffs.

But high school is high school. A big deal but not really. Thankfully, college basketball has it right with its amazing March Madness 64-team tournament. And so too does the NFL, allowing 12 out of 32, making teams truly earn their spots. And if you really wanna talk tough, the MLB is downright mean, allowing just 8 teams out of 30. Now, of course, pretty much all of us hate the way college football works but I also have beef with the NBA and NHL.

Why you ask? Well, in both leagues, there are 30 teams. But when it comes to the playoffs, 16 teams qualify. That's right. More than half of the teams in the league make the postseason. And while some may like this, what is this saying about the regular season?

By allowing 16 out of 30 to make the playoffs, you're rewarding teams that middle of the pack. Heck, you're even rewarding a team that is less than that. I'm pretty sure every team in the NBA goes into the season with the goal of making the playoffs. But if you finish the season 36-46 and make the playoffs, is that really a good year?

I want to propose a radical change. Let's talk NBA. First off, let's make this distinction. If a team is not .500 or better at the end of the season, they cannot earn a spot in the playoffs. I'd even go far enough to say .500 isn't good enough but I won't get too rash. So that means last season, Philadelphia (40-42) and Atlanta (37-45) would not have been eligible for the playoffs. And in my perfect world, neither would have Toronto (41-41).

So what happens to the playoffs? No, I don't any of the above .500 Western Conference teams to move over. Instead, just have 5 teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Yep, that's right. Boston, Detroit and Orlando all would get a 1st round bye to rest bodies.

And I know, last year, Atlanta almost beat Boston in what was a thrilling 7-game series in the first round. But honestly, no one cared. Everyone knew Boston would win the series in the end. They were just the superior team. And again, why should Atlanta be rewarded the playoffs after losing more games than they won?

Now, it won't work too well with the NHL because of their point system. Instead, I just want the NHL to cut the playoffs from 16 to 12, a la NFL. Have the top two teams in each conference get a bye. And in a sport like hockey, a week off can do wonders for the body.

And a change that both leagues should consider, cutting down on the days off. NBA and NHL teams can play 4 games in a span of 6 days. But many times, the series take 7 days to play 3 games. Come on, really? No wonder ratings are down. No one cares about a series that takes 16 days to finish!

Of course, if there is one downside to my proposal, it's that a team that would normally be in the playoff race despite being under .500 could pack it in once they hit loss #42. But let's be serious. Most teams that are out of a playoff race know it well before they hit loss #42. So I'm not falling for that argument.

Will this ever happen? Of course not. Nothing I have ever proposed in sports has ever changed (besides Intramural Sports, where I actually had some say). But to me, this seems reasonable. Make these teams work hard during the entire regular season to make the playoffs. Don't let them cruise with records under .500. It's bad enough both the NHL and NBA playoffs take two and a half months to finish. We could do without some teams that have no business being in the playoffs already.