David Kahn, Columnist

Playoffs Are for Winners

The NBA postseason should belong to winning teams, not losing ones, and every effort should be made to eliminate losing teams from being rewarded.

April 16, 2015 at 1:07 PM UTC

By David Kahn

David Kahn has been general manager of the Indiana Pacers, president of the Minnesota Timberwolves, head of the Oregon Stadium Campaign for Major League Baseball and is currently teaching two courses on sports economics at New York University.

Not for everyone.
Photographer: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

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The National Basketball Association is holding its next Board of Governors meeting this week in New York, where it is expected to again address what has become a rite of spring: how to fix the competitive imbalance between the Eastern and Western conferences by revamping the playoffs.

Last season, a 48-34 team (Phoenix) failed to qualify for the Western playoffs, while a 37-45 team (Atlanta) qualified in the East. This season, Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook are sitting out the West playoffs despite their 45-37 record, while Boston (40-42) and Brooklyn (38-44) have qualified in the East.