NBA may junk outright playoff for division titlist champ

NEWARK, New Jersey – A division title might soon mean a banner but no assurance of a playoff spot in the NBA.

Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday the league is leaning toward not guaranteeing a postseason berth to a team that wins its division, forcing clubs to finish in the top eight of their conference if they want a shot at the title.

Silver had already said he expected a change from the current format that guarantees division winners no worse than the No. 4 seed. But after discussions with both the competition committee and board of governors, he believes the change will go further than that.

“First of all, it’s never happened before that a division winner did not finish within the top eight, and our basketball analytics folks calculate that there’s less than a 5 percent chance that it would happen,” he said before taking part in a panel discussion at the “Beyond Sport United” program.

“Where we are leaning right now is that we would not guarantee a spot for a division winner in part because it’s so unlikely to happen, and No. 2 if it does happen it would be potentially confusing to fans. No. 3, you would be displacing a team that did have a top-eight record.”

Portland got the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference last season by winning the Northwest Division, but the Trail Blazers would have been seeded sixth by win-loss record.