Contrary to what some may say out there, good sports writing still exists. Ian Thomsen, the balding Sports Illustrated sage — he and TrueHoop's Henry Abbott should form a club — can usually be counted on to donate his time toward sound NBA observations. His writing in the magazine is some of the finest out there, but, as I am a poor college student, SI.com has become my bastion of Thomsen musings.
In last Friday’s “Weekly Countdown” column, Thomsen dispensed long-overdue support of Tracy McGrady, disdain of the tragicomedic Clay Bennett, and why he (as we now see, mistakenly) picked the Dallas Mavericks to win it all. But as the capstone of last week’s commentary, Thomsen threw his weight behind something which, as a red-blooded American and thus a purveyor of equal opportunity, I simply cannot agree with: keeping the NBA playoff format.
Before I go any further, I guess it’s necessary to point out that, yes, there is a Blazers sign posted next to my door (if I had a dollar for everyone who asked what “Rip City” was…), but my stance toward restructuring the playoffs was in no way affected by my Portland partiality. Promise.
Therefore, since Thomsen so graciously gave us “5 Reasons to stick with the playoff format.” I'll graciously counter each argument he made.
Thomsen: 5. The NBA can't seed a single bracket.
So the MLB doesn’t do it. Or the NFL. Or (if anyone cares) the NHL. Then why, my friends, should the final partner of the Big Four deign to cobbling all playoff teams into one bracket?
Two words: March Madness.
Only a fool or a liar would claim that the March Madness, with the possible exception of that lone play-in game, is a failure. From Selection Sunday to the Final Four, the excitement of this lone bracket — featuring teams dispersed evenly and without regard to conference or locale — is second to none. Only the 65 best teams are welcomed into the pearly gates of the Madness, and only the best will eventually find themselves lauded by Digger Phelps and Bob Knight.
No, I am not saying that the NBA should mimic all the attributes of the Greatest Spectacle on Earth, just that it should cull its best aspects and shape them into their own.
As Thomsen says, a slight tweaking of the schedule would need to be in order for the “equality” aspect of this to work. Stern has obviously shown that he is willing to shake things up – relocation into six divisions just went down a couple years ago, while murmurs of European/Russian expansion continue to bubble and fester.
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