This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The league is expected to stop giving division winners an automatic top four seed in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and instead seed the top eight teams according to record, regardless of division.
If that rule were in affect last year, the Portland Trailblazers would've been the team hit by the change. Portland won the Northwest Division with a 51-31 record, and was awarded the No. 4 seed, despite having the sixth best record. Had this rule been in effect, the landscape of the Western Conference postseason may have looked different. Instead of playing against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, Portland would've instead faced the Los Angeles Clippers.
It's a good rule, simply because some divisions are stronger than others. However, if there's ever a year that a division winner doesn't fall into the top eight, then it will raise this simple question.
Why continue having divisions?
Still, that scenario is a ways off, and odds are every division winner will be good enough to be playoff bound. And on another level, teams should be seeded where they finished, that's agreed. Over an 82 game schedule, it can be frustrating to see someone seeded above you, despite worse record. The regular season in the NBA is a grind, and there has to be a reward at the end of the tunnel for everyone.
The Northwest Division could be very interesting in this vein. The Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to be a top three team in the west. The Utah Jazz are expected to be a conference upstart. But those could very well be the only two teams in the division that finish with an above .500 record. The Trailblazers have lost LaMarcus Aldridge and could take a giant step back. The Denver Nuggets are still rebuilding, and while the Minnesota Timberwolves are certainly up and coming, them making a big improvement this upcoming season is a question.
Tony Jones XX