IN THE LANE

PLAYOFF REMIX: The fact that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the league remain open minded about the fairest playoff format for future seasons is a positive step. Because if the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets would provide the most compelling NBA Finals then the league, in the future, should not have to feature such a series as a preliminary showcase. But if the scenario involves getting rid of conferences and advancing the 16 teams with the best regular-season records, then the only fair approach would be a balanced schedule for each team. The rub is that for every team to play each opposing team an equal amount, the NBA would have to go to an 87-game schedule (three games against each of the 29 opposing teams, with two at home against each opponent in alternating seasons). It is highly doubtful that a league stressing rest and recovery would extend the schedule. Fine, so in alternating seasons play teams in the opposing conference only twice. That way every team still visits at least once. And the travel does not necessarily have to be longer, just the length of trips to the opposite conference. For the truest and fairest playoff scenario the playoffs also should be reseeded after each round, similar to the NFL. STATUS QUO: As for LeBron James, he said the current playoff system is fine because of the cyclical nature of the conferences, citing the Heat’s run to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011- to ‘14, with championships in ‘12 and ‘13. “In the ‘80s you had the Lakers who dominated the league at one point, then you had Boston. In the ‘90s you had Chicago. San Antonio also had its run. We had our run in the East with Miami, Golden State is having their run,” he said. “I’ve been a part of the Eastern Conference my whole career and we’ve been very, very competitive. There’s been years where we weren’t as good. If I can think from once I got into the league, it’s been us, I’ve done it three times, Detroit, Boston, Miami in ‘06, that’s like seven [actually six East] championships out of 14 years.” PLAIN WRONG: One would hope that former players attempting to break into the media wouldn’t hop aboard the yell-as-loud-as-you-can and speak-as-outrageously-as-possible movement, knowing better about the struggles of athletes. Yet there was former Heat guard Eddie House on Fox Sports 1 calling out 2010-11 Heat teammate James because of the Heat’s loss in the 2011 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks. “I can’t get over the fact he didn’t show up in Dallas,” House said. “Not only because I was on the team, but the fact he was the best player and everybody was dependent on him to show up and do what he does, and he was M.I.A. He had a bad series. [Michael] Jordan never had that. People killed James Harden for having a bad series last year . ... But you’re going to say somebody who quit in the Finals, [at] the end of everything, when all the marbles are on the table, that he’s the greatest of all time? I can’t buy it.” And yet if James didn’t join the Heat in the 2010 offseason it is likely that the Heat would have opted at the end of that training camp for Patrick Beverley instead of what didn’t exactly turn out to be the veteran contribution of House.