Let's face it. No matter who gets the eighth seed in the Western Conference, the NBA really screwed up this year.
With a little help, the league can avoid playoff seeding debacles for years to come.
First, let's blow up the conferences, once and for all. The divisions, however, would remain intact.
Then, I'd institute something I've long been a proponent of: Bill Simmons' brainchild, the "Entertaining as Hell Tournament." Tanking sucks, doesn't it? Take away the incentive for teams to do it by forcing them to play in a tourney for the eighth seed.
When the dust settles, take the top 16 teams and seed them accordingly.
All series will be best-of-five until the NBA Finals, when the format reverts back to best-of-seven.
Nobody wants to watch Florida play Albany four times in the first round of the NCAA tournament. So why, then, do we need to sit through a glorified four-day Spoelstra/Vogel Basketball Clinic in a first round series against Atlanta?
Why should an eighth seed eyesore get to play the same number of games as Miami and San Antonio in the finals?
Reward winning from the top down, so teams like Phoenix and Minnesota get a fair shot, and there will be better-quality basketball as a result.
Reach the columnist at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @modrich_22
