By Staff
I have never been one that believed that change for the sake of change was a good thing.
Apparently the National Basketball Association does.
On Wednesday the NBA announced that it sent out email ballots to its 30 teams to consider re-alignment.
Why is the NBA thinking of shaking things up?
Two reasons really. The first is because the Charlotte Bobcats are joining the league next season.
And secondly, and probably most important, the Western Conference has won the last five World Championships.
To be more specific, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs have won the last five NBA titles between them. The Lakers won three straight beginning in 2000, while the Spurs sandwiched those championships with one in 1999 and then again in 2003.
Not only is the NBA adding the Charlotte franchise, the league is going to expand from four divisions to six.
Locally, the Central Division doesn't change much with the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks making up the teams.
The Atlantic will have plenty of potential rivals as the Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors make up that division.
The newly created Southeast Division has some potential rivals with the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards battling for the title.
Only the Pacific Division survives in the Western Conference.
And what a powerhouse division it will be with the likes of the Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings slugging it out.
The Northwest Division will be comprised of the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Sonics and Utah Jazz.
The Southwest Division will also be a powerhouse with the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets and San Antonio Spurs squaring off.
The addition of Charlotte to the league will not change regular season scheduling very much, nor will re-alignment change the number of teams which make the playoffs.
The three division champions in each league will be joined by the next five teams with the best records to create a field of 16 teams.
Thank goodness.
I don't pay much attention to the regular season, but I do like watching the NBA playoffs. They didn't need fixing and the league was smart enough not to tinker with it.
Much like the addition of the wild card to the baseball playoffs, two new division champions means two new sets of fans get to be happy at the end of the regular season.
I am all for that.
The league owners have until Monday to cast their votes. The reports are that it's a done deal.
The NBA has taken to public relation hits of late, but this is finally some good, positive news for the league.
It's about time.