I was in opposition when former NBA Commissioner David Stern changed the first- round of the NBA Playoffs from a five game series to seven. That decision changed the mystique of what the first-round used to be all about.
The truly dominant teams such as the Chicago Bulls would use the first-round as a tune up. Get out to a quick 2-0 series lead at home and then squash the bug in a competitive, but fun game three. The intrigue in playing a five game series is the threat of an upset. A shorter series benefits the lower seed in most cases. The 1994 Seattle Supersonics were good enough to win an NBA Championship. The Denver Nuggets stole game five and won that series in one of the most infamous first- round series in NBA history. Now that the first round is a seven game series that threat of losing a home game and being in hot water is all but gone.
This year is the first time in league history three game sevens will take place on the same day. The extended series serve as an extra treat for the fans, but at what cost? At this rate teams are going to be burned out by the time the NBA Finals roll around.
The NBA season is too long to begin with. It doesn't take 82 games to figure out what teams truly deserve to compete for a title. Adam Silver made a splash with his first ground breaking decision as commissioner by banning Donald Sterling from the Los Angeles Clippers as well as the NBA for life. Commissioner Silver needs to look into going back to the traditional five game opening round. That was one of the elements that made the first-round so popular.
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