Feb. 15--REPORTING FROM NEW YORK -- The Western Conference has been substantially better than the East for the better part of a decade, the top eight teams in the former continually logging better regular-season records than the playoff participants from the latter.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will look into changing that.
Well aware that East teams make playoffs with losing records almost annually, Silver said during a news conference Satuday that he'll check if there is a system that rewards more teams out West that would otherwise miss the postseason.
One problem would be the travel, with Silver acknowledging that Portland and Miami could be matched in future playoff seasons, creating a mileage nightmare.
Plus there would be resistance from owners of one of the conferences.
"As you might imagine, there are certain Eastern Conference coaches who like the status quo and certain Western Conference owners who are saying change is due," Silver said.
The commissioner also said he wanted to reduce regular-season wear and tear on players by decreasing back-to-back situations in future seasons, as well as occurrences of four games in five nights, currently the NBA maximum.
Another way to create more rest for players would be decreasing the number of exhibition games in the future, Silver said. The current standard is eight per team before regular-season play.
Finally, Silver reiterated previous comments that the draft lottery system eventually needed a "fresh look," a tweak or two to reduce the perception of teams purposely losing to improve draft chances. On the other hand, Silver said the lottery system was "not as broken" as indicated by media and fans.
