Should the NBA/NHL go back to first round best-of-5?

[Unocal 76]

The NBA from 1984-2002 had a best-of-five first round. The NHL from 1980-1986 also had a best of five opening round.

MLB has had best of five play since 1969.

Imagine how things might be right now with that.

The NBA would have three do-or-die game 5's in the East (Wiz/Raptors, Cavs/Pacers, Bucks/Celtics) and today's wins instead of forcing a game 6 would have been literal season savers.

Or Washington's OT win yesterday would have won the series.

Yes, 3-1 comebacks can be great, but they are rare at times where you wonder if the reward is worth a longer postseason.

[Vice honcho room temperature]

Nba yes because too many series too often are tedious bores due to the nature of the sport and how seperated the top teams are from most everyone else

Nhl no because usually their 1st round series are more tightly contested and most everyone has a chance to do something further on in the playoffs

[Deleted]

Probably shouldn’t but as long as networks throw stupid amounts of money at them they’ll keep extending this thing for as long as possible.

What I hate about the NBA playoffs is that after the first round series they stretch the next two rounds and Finals out for like two weeks apiece. It’s so stupid.

[Spider2024]

What should happen for NBA (though it never will) is to cut the playoff field in half, 4 in each conference, eliminating the first round altogether. In MLB/NFL/NHL, every team that makes the playoffs can feasibly win it all. In the NBA, the 5-8 seeds can't really win (even though it's happened before, yes.) Also, it just might prevent or curtail the tanking thing.

[fw91]

Apr 23, 2018 12:26:55 GMT -5 Vice honcho room temperature said:

Nba yes because too many series too often are tedious bores due to the nature of the sport and how seperated the top teams are from most everyone else

Nhl no because usually their 1st round series are more tightly contested and most everyone has a chance to do something further on in the playoffs

this

[Hit Girl]

No team sport should be best of anything but one.

The exception would be a two legged match with an aggregate score.

[Reflecto]

Apr 23, 2018 14:16:53 GMT -5 Spider2024 said:

What should happen for NBA (though it never will) is to cut the playoff field in half, 4 in each conference, eliminating the first round altogether. In MLB/NFL/NHL, every team that makes the playoffs can feasibly win it all. In the NBA, the 5-8 seeds can't really win (even though it's happened before, yes.) Also, it just might prevent or curtail the tanking thing.

On the contrary, more teams making the playoffs would give more teams reason to tank, not less reasons.

Basketball's been broken because it's the major sport where stars matter the most.

In Baseball and Football, having the single best player on the field is imperceptible as a benefit at best, and in many cases could even hinder a team.

In hockey, having the best player on the ice helps- but if the other team's goalie is hot, it doesn't matter.

In basketball though, it's black and white. All other things being equal, the team with the best player on the court WILL PROBABLY WIN THE GAME...and so, to make the team win, you need to get the best player.

Lessening the amount of playoff teams wouldn't help things, it'd just make superteams more of a premium and make teams MORE willing to tank until they get the superteam to be a contender.

If anything, the only way to prevent or curtail tanking is going the opposite direction: Expand to 32 teams, and literally EVERY TEAM makes the playoffs. It makes the regular season just playing for seeding, but means no team can tank because they all have a chance at the title.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

NHL no

NBA yes. The 1st round matchups between 1-8 and 2-7 are almost always clear cut and the division of talent is a wide gap. This year due to injuries and other circumstances it has been exciting but a few years before this has been academic with last year being the complete opposite of this year with Cavs and Warriors being head and shoulders better than everyone else and the Warriors being that match better than the Cavs

[cabbageboy]

I don't much care either way what the NHL does, but the NBA desperately needs to go back to a best of 5. It won't happen since they want that extra couple of games per series, but the NBA first round going 7 games is just dire.

Imagine if that Lebron shot last night had ended that series instead of just giving the Cavs a 3-2 lead.

[Sam Punk]

I'd like to see it as it would increase the odds of a first round upset.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Yes to the NBA. No To The NHL.

In a series, you only need 7 in the first round series if upsets happen on a regular basis, which they easily do in the NHL (hell, at times the last team to get in the playoffs has won the whole thing at times). NBA is too chalk for the series to go to 7 games.

[sfvega]

The NHL playoffs are a one-of-a-kind war of attrition. Everything is so tightly contested, they need 7 games to settle it all. The parity in the NBA is ridiculously non-existent, so a best of 5 series would be best to save us all from some sad, one-sided basketball. Where as the 1st round of the NBA playoffs are terrible and get better as the playoffs go on, the 1st round of the NHL playoffs is often times the best (and usually easily the most healthy) hockey maybe of any round. Don't take away the greatness of the 1st round of the NHL just because you're trying to make upsets easier.

[MrElijah]

Off topic, but why did the NHL switch from deciding the Division Champs in the playoffs(When the Conferences had names) to the reseeding format?

Oh and the NBA needs to go back to best of 5.

[Rican]

The NBA first round should be best of 3. Ensures all series will end around the same time, makes for more exciting games and potential upsets. Second round can be best of 5, and the conference finals and NBA finals should be best of 7.

[OGBoardPoster2005]

I wish they just played back to back nights for home stands, make it a war of attrition.