Heat at 30
Ira Winderman ranks the Top 10 March Madness moments for Heat players.
MIAMI — Uncle. Because fair is only fair and Monday’s example of the Denver Nuggets’ visit to American-Airlines Arena stands as the perfect example of what’s not fair.
For the Miami Heat, waiting to clinch a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference has essentially come down to waiting for the Detroit Pistons to lose a few more games. It is looking more and more as if a .500 record won’t even be necessary to advance to the postseason in the East.
Then there are the Nuggets, in the heated mix of a free-for-all for a spot anywhere from No. 3 to No. 10 in the Western Conference, two quality teams from the West are likely to watch the playoffs from the sidelines.
The irony is that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who on numerous occasions has addressed the imbalance and possible solutions, was in Denver on Thursday night to watch the Pistons be bad and the Nuggets be competitive.
As could be expected, he was asked about the disparity.
“We’re serious about looking at it. We’re far from a place where there’s a solution,” Silver said on the Nuggets’ radio network. “We’re not ready to make a change yet.”
The solution is as simple as one to 16.
“Of course,” Silver said, “it makes sense to seed teams 1 to 16 in the league, but we have two conferences that are geographically apart.”
As mentioned in this space last month, the most equitable solution would be a balanced schedule. But the only way to achieve that would be to extend the schedule to 87 games, with each team playing each of the other 29 teams three times. As mentioned then, a league now benefiting from a more breathable schedule is not going to be adding games.
“To move from a balanced schedule,” Silver said, “it would require a lot more travel on behalf of the teams.” We get that. So leave the schedule as is, even if it means a far more grueling regularseason test for Western Conference teams such as the Nuggets, as opposed to the lottery gifts that keep on giving for the Heat in the East (even if they refuse to take advantage at times).
That, in fact, is even more reason to take the 16 teams with the best records. If you can finish in the West with a better record than a top-eight seed in the East, then all the more reason to reward a below-eight seed from the stronger conference.
That, of course, would lead to playoff seeding without regard to conference, and the ensuing travel schedule.
“You can also end up in the first round with Portland playing Miami,” Silver said. “To crisscross the country, it adds enormous fatigue to the players and it would cut down on the quality of the competition and also potentially lead to more injuries.”
Indeed, following their postgame media sessions Monday at the Moda Center, Blazers coach Terry Stotts crossed paths with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, with Stotts shaking his head after Spoelstra told him about the Heat’s sevenhour trip the previous day.
And yet on the trip for the Heat were Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade, who were sidelined the entire week due to injuries sustained prior, showing that NBA teams are equipped to tend to such ailments home or away.
With the first round of the NBA playoffs so spaced out, such travel contingencies seemingly could be easily addressed. That would leave only two rounds of potential crosscountry travel, with the NBA Finals already East vs. West. In fact, in a one-through-16 playoff format, it would be possible that the championship round would return to more reasonable travel itineraries, perhaps producing a higher level of play at the league’s highest level of competition.
For now, the Heat and Nuggets, two teams fighting for a final playoff berth in their respective conferences, meet Monday in South Florida amid this reality: The Heat might not have to win again to make the playoffs; the Nuggets might not be able to lose again to confidently advance.