While no official decision has been made regarding the NBA’s return, it does seem to appear that things are trending in the right direction. NBA officials reportedly met with Disney World executives last week about using the amusement park as a location to host games, and practice facilities around the country are beginning to open up.
With a shortened season imminent should the NBA resume, it appears other changes to the structure of things have begun to be discussed as well. Early on Monday morning, word broke that the league had begun talks of potentially re-seeding the entire postseason picture. This would pit western conference teams against eastern conference teams, in one giant 16 team tournament.
While this may sound fun and exciting at first, this type of format would be a near death sentence when it comes to the Sixers’ slim title hopes. A potential path to the NBA finals would look something like this:
Round 1: Boston Celtics
Round 2: Los Angeles Clippers
Semifinals: Milwaukee Bucks
Finals: Los Angeles Lakers
While the old phrase “you have to beat the best to be the best” usually rings true when it comes to sports, expecting any team to go through that group of opponents successfully is a bit silly. Each series has the potential to go to seven games, and the Sixers simply aren’t built for a 28 game postseason.
Personally, Sixers bias aside, I find the concept of recreating the postseason bracket pointless. It doesn’t add any extra teams who are getting “snubbed” by a shortened season, and the nature of the bracket really hurts teams in the former 4th, 5th, and 6th seeds.
While a first round matchup with the Celtics seems inevitable for Philadelphia, the team should keep their fingers crossed that they don’t have to cross paths with Kawhi Leonard in the second round once again.
Mandatory Credit – © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
