Commissioner Adam Silver did not rule out further changes in a press conference.The current playoff format could also be ratified.A seed list from 1 to 16 would not rule out Silver.
“A reform of the playoffs is something we will look forward to in the future,” said Silver on a PK on the fringes of the China Games between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves,”but I think we should also look at the regular season schedule.
The Commissioner is concerned about a balanced schedule.At the moment, the West teams are increasingly playing against competitors from their own conference.The same applies to the East.For example, the Warriors play only 30 matches against teams from the East, while 52 matches against competitors from the Western Conference are played.
“So if we want to have seeding from 1 to 16, we also need a balanced game plan if we want to guarantee equal opportunities,”Silver continues.The 82 games are also not untouchable for David Stern’s successor:”That’s not carved in stone, but we won’t make any changes there in the near future”.The extension of the regular season by one week was a first step.
“We eliminated four games in five nights.I think this is the first time in history.A seed list would be counterproductive” If we were to introduce a seed list, the teams would have to travel more.There’d be teams that would have to fly across the country in the first round.”