Podcast: Should NBA change playoff format for abbreviated season?

Joel Embiid goes for a layup during the Philadelphia 76ers game against the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on October 23, 2019. (Kate Frese/PhillyVoice)
Kate Frese/Kate Frese

As the NBA inches closer to a formal return, adjustments continue to be considered in order to finish the 2019-20 season. Are 1-16 seeding or a group stage format really on the table for the NBA, and would the Sixers benefit from those changes? We tackle those questions and more in a new episode of The New Slant podcast.

Spoiler alert: I'm in favor of sticking closer to tradition (both short-term and long-term), while Shamus is a heathen who is down with shaking up the system. But you'll have to listen to this week's episode to see where we fall on the issue.

A brief rundown of the show:

  1. Abandoning conferences for a 1-16 straight seeding tournament
  2. How the Sixers would benefit or suffer from changes to playoff format
  3. The value of conference rivalries and how they compare to rivalries in other sports
  4. Adopting a group stage a la the World Cup or Champions League for the first round
  5. The inevitability of the Sixers ending up in the "Group of Death" 

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