Change the NBA playoff system

Why is it that in the NBA teams like the lowly Knicks or Hawks make the playoffs while good teams like the Suns or Mavericks barely miss the cusp of the postseason? Normally I am all for conferencing for a playoff system but when one conference, the West in this case, is so much stronger than the other something needs to be done about it.

Currently the Eastern Conference has two teams under .500. If the playoffs started today, they would be included while the Western Conference’s first team under .500 sits at the 10^th best team in the conference. Something isn’t right about this.  Isn’t the point of a playoff system meant to showcase the best teams possible? Then why leave some teams that deserve to make the playoffs out in the cold harsh reality that is mediocrity in the NBA?

These bad East teams that make the playoffs continue to draft lower because of it. Western teams who miss the playoffs and are above .500 get the higher draft picks, improve themeselves, adn the cycle continues. So, what exactly can be done about it?

First we remove conferencing for a playoff system as a whole but we keep divisions within. Sixteen teams will still make the playoffs in order to keep a sense of familiarity with the players and fans. Each of the six division winners automatically clinches a playoff spot but then the final 10 teams become playoff eligible based on their overall record, travel be damned.

After all the regular season games have been played at the end of the year, the teams will be seeded based off their overall record regardless of being a division winner or not. Some may then ask then why the need for a division winner? Well because no matter the record of the division winner in the first round of the playoffs they receive home court advantage in the series to reward them for winning their division.

This system would make it so the best 16 teams in the NBA make the cut for the postseason and it makes for a better watching experience and competitive atmosphere. No more easily coasting to the Conference Finals for the top East teams. The NBA needs to do something about the conferencing problem. The current system — the one that rewards bad teams in the East with playoff spots, is getting to be kind of ridiculous.