6. What if the league had changed its playoff format earlier?
Remember when divisions used to matter? Let’s assume for this exercise that the NBA had learned from the 2006 season and fully done away with division winners automatically earning a top 4 seed. Silver finally relented in 2015, but let’s take a look at how the 2010s shape out had this change happened earlier.
2012 season: the Celtics and Hawks would switch between 4 and 5 seeds. However, this would not have any impact on the playoffs as the Hawks still had homecourt advantage.
2015 season: This is where things really go differently. The Warriors still sweep New Orleans and the Rockets still handle Dallas in 5, but the other Western Conference playoff series’ go much differently. The Clippers sweep a broken-down Portland team in the 3/6 series with Wesley Matthews sidelined due to a torn Achilles.
Although we miss out on the classic Clippers/Spurs Round 1 series, Grizzlies vs. Spurs should still be good. San Antonio was historically dominant in the second half of 2015, so I expect them to beat Memphis in six games. The two second-round series’ can go either way. I see the Warriors outlasting the Spurs in a 7-game series. Since Chris Paul never injures his hamstring in the easy rout of Portland, the Clippers beat Houston in 6. We never get the blown 3-1 Clippers lead/Game 6 implosion/Josh Smith and Corey Brewer game.
Even though Los Angeles bows down to the mighty Warriors, the “Lob City” era is never seen as a failure because they make the 2015 Western Conference Finals. In fact, they might even come back better in 2016 and 2017. Perhaps Chris Paul even stays in LA, and Houston never pushes the KD-Warriors to the brink. At least this season is what finally got the league to devalue the meaningless division crowns.