...among other things that the competition committee decided on. The jist of the new rules:
-Seeds 1 through 4 in each conference will be seeded by record (the 3 division winners and the best 2nd-place team), still guaranteeing a home series for a division win, but keeping the two best records in the conference apart until the conference finals. And this is in no way a reactionary response to Dallas and San Antonio playing in the 2nd round last year and not the conference finals. Nosiree, Bob.
-Playoff rosters will be expanded from 13 to 15, with what amounts to 12 actives and 3 scratches for each game.
-And what is sure to be the personal favorite of our pro-USE YOUR DAMN TIMEOUTS dictator, if a team has two full timeouts in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter/overtime, one of those will be magically condensed into a 20 second timeout, and there will also be no more carrying over 20sTOs from the 2nd half to overtime, as the new overtime allotment will be 2 full TOs and a 20.
The seeding makes some assemblance of sense, since usually the #4 seed has been a better team than some of the recent #3 seeds and sometimes #2 seeds and it's screwed a few teams up accordingly...oh hell, they might as well just call it the Dallas Rule and be done with it. The 15-man rule is perfectly fine, but man oh man, good luck to the broadcasters in explaining that last one every 4th quarter of a game.
(edited by JoshMann on 2.8.06 1550)
(edited by JoshMann on 2.8.06 1552)
"I don't know if it's Biscayne Boulevard or where it is, but there is an image in my mind about the symbolic championship parade."
Originally posted by JoshMann-And what is sure to be the personal favorite of our pro-USE YOUR DAMN TIMEOUTS dictator, if a team has two full timeouts in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter/overtime, one of those will be magically condensed into a 20 second timeout, and there will also be no more carrying over 20sTOs from the 2nd half to overtime, as the new overtime allotment will be 2 full TOs and a 20.
... man oh man, good luck to the broadcasters in explaining that last one every 4th quarter of a game.
If people watching the game on TV can figure out how a team goes from 4 fouls to give to 1 foul to give, they can probably digest this rule just fine. I give this rule thumbs up because oftentimes teams are just using the timeout to advance the ball anyway, so no bother dragging things out the length of a full when a 20 will do. (I'm actually surprised they'd pass such an unfriendly-to-TV rule!)
(I'm actually surprised they'd pass such an unfriendly-to-TV rule!)
This will open the door to all sorts of premium in-game / end of game add placement, I'm guessing. "This 20 is Brought to YOU by COLT 45! Why settle for a 20, when you can have a 40! COLT 45 - It works EVERY TIME!"
Game On!! And maybe we can all get to bed by 1am!
FLEA
Demonstrations are a drag. Besides, we're much too high
...among other things that the competition committee decided on. The jist of the new rules:
-Seeds 1 through 4 in each conference will be seeded by record (the 3 division winners and the best 2nd-place team), still guaranteeing a home series for a division win, but keeping the two best records in the conference apart until the conference finals. And this is in no way a reactionary response to Dallas and San Antonio playing in the 2nd round last year and not the conference finals. Nosiree, Bob.
Dallas/San Antonio might have played a major part in it, as a Conference Final between 60+ win teams will generally draw more viewers than a Conference Semifinal based upon the build of the playoffs. However, the Clippers/Memphis scenario where a team tanks to grab the 6 spot and home court against a weak 3 seed rather than winning to get the 5 spot and annihilation against a strong 4 seed has to factor into this as well. Clippers finally find a way where losing benefited them and they close the loophole. They wouldn't have done this if it had been the Lakers who had benefited from the flaw in the system.
Good and much needed rule...I just wonder how the Dallas/San Antonio series woulda turned out had it been the Western Conference Final instead of a 2nd round matchup.
The timeout and roster rules though...eh. Most teams barely dip in the bench during the playoffs, 3 inactives plus the 2-3 that will actually suit up just seems excessive.
Originally posted by Packman V2Good and much needed rule...I just wonder how the Dallas/San Antonio series woulda turned out had it been the Western Conference Final instead of a 2nd round matchup.
Personally, I don't think either one of them would have beaten Pheonix in the second round. Those back-to-back seven-game series against the Lakers and Clippers wore the Suns out. The Suns were on fire in those playoffs.
Maybe asking if the lottery was fixed wasn't the brightest idea. Jim Rome Asked David Stern About the NBA Lottery Being Fixed and Stern Responded, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” [UPDATE: Audio] To be fair, Rome's question was idiotic.