In an effort to find the most competitive and revenue-making postseason as possible, many leagues have tinkered with their playoff format. In fact, since 2002, each of the big four major sports leagues (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL) have all changed their playoffs in some way. The most recent proposed change is the NFL expanding their playoffs from 12 to 14 teams, which is something that will be discussed in the upcoming months prior to the start of the season. While I think change can be good for sports leagues, I think there is a danger of the playoff format becoming too unconventional or allowing too many teams in. In this article, I'll take a look at the four major sports leagues, their playoff format, and how it fits and stacks up against the other leagues.
MLB
Number of Participants: 10 (33.3% of league makes postseason)
Format: One Game Wild Card, Divisional Series (Best of 5), League Championship Series (Best of 7), World Series (Best of 7)
Overall: I'm a big fan of the way baseball's playoffs are set up, particularly with the addition of a single elimination Wild Card game. Previously, it was just the team with the best record that was not a division winner, and they would automatically play the highest seeded team. Considering there are 30 teams that play 162 games, only allowing four teams in is a bit harsh. The Wild Card game was added in 2012 and I'd say has been a big success so far. In 2012, the Cardinals would not have even made the playoffs under the old system as they were the second wild card team. They proceeded to win the Wild Card game on the road, beat the Reds in 5 in the Divisional Round, and push the eventual World Series Champion Giants to seven games in the League Championship Series.
The 2013 Wild Card round saw one of the more memorable postseason games of late. The Pittsburgh Pirates, having not been to the postseason since 1992, gained the first Wild Card spot and home field advantage for that game, in a highly competitive NL Central. They faced fellow division foe, the Cincinnati Reds, for the right to go to the Divisional Round. What followed was arguably the most electric baseball crowd ever. Just ask Johnny Cueto. Facing a rattled pitcher, and having a talented roster in their own right, the Pirates were able to march onto the next round, before falling to the other postseason member of the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals.
I actually think baseball could use to expand to include six teams for their playoffs. The one game Wild Card is exciting, but I just think there are more than five teams in each league worthy of making a run at a World Series. Consider that in 2012, the Rays, Angels, and Dodgers were all left out, while in 2013, the Rangers only missed out by one game. Those were four talented teams that just played 162 games for nothing expect a higher draft pick than the playoff teams. While moving from 10 to 12 starts to get very close to allowing half the league in, I think 12 is a reasonable number to allow to compete in postseason play. I think there is more parity than ever in baseball as teams like the Orioles and A's are competing amongst the Yankees of the world. Even a team like Detroit that I remember used to be the laughing stock of the league, has consistently competed year in and year out as of late.
While the extra team is something I would like to see, I wouldn't be too upset if they didn't change it. The win or go home Wild Card game is great for the fans and TV ratings. With the baseball season being so many games as is, it makes sense for a best of five round to start the playoffs, followed by the traditional best of seven for the next two rounds. MLB seems to have found the best formula for determining a champion.
NHL
Number of Participants: 16 (53.3% of league makes postseason)
Format: Four Rounds (All Best of 7)
Overall: The newest kink in the NHL's postseason involves how the teams are seeded and who the winners face in subsequent rounds. Eight teams from each league still get in, but now with the leagues being split into two divisions, the top three teams from each division qualify automatically regardless of record with the two new Wild Card spots being occupied by the teams with the best records that did not finish in the top three of their division. The Wild Card can come from either division so you could have five from one division and three from the other. The seeding, or rather lack of seeding, is where it gets tricky.
The division winners play the two Wild Card teams based on points (division winner with most points plays the Wild Card team with the least points). The second place team then plays the third place team in their own division. This can lead to tough first round draws, particularly if one division did much better than the other. Look at the Eastern Conference this year. By record, Boston and Pittsburgh are the top seeds and also won their division. Great. Tampa Bay and Montreal, however, have the next best records, but are in the same division, essentially creating a 3 vs 4 matchup. Tampa Bay has already been eliminated by Montreal, who finished a point behind Tampa Bay, but four points ahead of the New York Rangers (second place in the other division), and six points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers (third place).
The old system would sometimes get matchups like these because the top three division winners were protected, so sometimes the 4 vs 5 matchup would feature teams with better records than the third seed. With the league now split into two divisions, I think it would be better competitively, if the division winners were still protected, but the other four teams play each other based on points, regardless of division. This year is also the first time that the NHL has gone with a fixed bracket system, rather than reseeding after each round. Previously, after each round, the highest remaining seed would face the lowest remaining seed. Since there are technically no seeds this time around, a NCAA style bracket is set up. So the winner of the St. Louis-Chicago series knows that it will face the winner of the Colorado-Minnesota series, no questions asked.
This format, similar to the NCAA Tournament, gives the lower seeds a better chance. This is because, since there is no reseeding, they have a shot to avoid some of the higher seeds. Under the old format, if you were an eight seed and every other top seed won out, you would have to go through the one seed, two seed, three seed, and potentially the one seed from the other conference. Under this format, if Dallas (technically the 8th seed) were to beat Anaheim, there's a good chance they wouldn't have to face Colorado (technically the 2nd seed) at all. It's hard to judge this system since we're not even through a full round with this format. The only thing I think needs changing is who the second and third place teams in each division play in the first round. Even though more than half the league gets into the postseason, I think the NHL has the talent to justify that.
NBA
Number of Participants: 16 (53.3% of league makes postseason)
Format: Four Rounds (All Best of 7)
Overall: If any league could use to reduce the number of playoff teams, it's the NBA. As far as parity goes in the four major sports, I think basketball is the worst one. Just look at the Eastern Conference this year. It has really been a two team race all year with Miami and Indiana battling for the top two seeds with no real threat to worry about. "But wait, the Hawks are up 2-1 on the Pacers," you might say. Correct. In fact, before this series started I picked the Hawks in 6. I picked them, however, not because the Hawks are a good team, but because the internal collapse by the Pacers is one of the most astonishing I have ever seen. If the Hawks were playing Miami, I'd probably pick the Heat in five, maybe even a sweep. This proves my point even more, as the Eastern Conference has now become a one-team conference. I know everyone is going to point to Brooklyn's undefeated regular season against the Heat, and I wish I could make a case for the Bulls if they face them, but let's be honest, it's the Heat and everyone else in the East.
Out West it's a bit trickier because many would argue that the Phoenix Suns deserved to make the playoffs. A legit argument could be made as they would have finished tied for third in the East. Then you have the fact that the Clippers are the only top seed in the East to be leading their series. Still, I think when it all shakes out, it will be the Clips, Thunder, and Spurs fighting for the right to go to the NBA Finals. I think the biggest example of why the NBA could use to decrease its playoffs is because the lowest seed to ever win an NBA title was the 1995 Houston Rockets (some Jordan guy was off playing baseball).
Six is a fairly low seed to win a title from, but not when you consider the recent success of lower seeds in the other major sports. The LA Kings ran the gauntlet in the NHL in 2012 by starting as the eight seed and beating the one, two, and three seed in their conference on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. MLB has had four teams win a World Series as a Wild Card team since 2002 (Angels, Red Sox, Marlins, Cardinals). In the NFL, the Steelers in 2005 and the Packers in 2010 started as six seeds and won the Super Bowl, playing all their games on the road. Certainly a Memphis over San Antonio or Golden State over Dallas in the first round has happened, but for the most part, it's really only the top teams contending for the title. I doubt I'll even watch another Heat-Bobcats game this series.
Personally, I would be in favor of a six team NBA playoff. Narrow the three divisions in the NBA down to two and have the two division winners get a bye. Then the three plays the six and the four plays the five in a best of five series. I would also set it up bracket style where the one seed would face the winner of the four/five matchup and the two seed would face the three/six winner. I think if the NBA really wants to have lower seeds contend, they need to make their salary cap rules tighter so that parity can actually exist in the NBA rather than Big Threes and Fours being set up, while the 76ers and Bucks are left with D-Leaguers.
NFL
Number of Participants: 12 (37.5% of league makes postseason)
Format: Single Elimination, Four Rounds
Overall: The NFL, being the only of the four major sports to be single elimination, is arguably the most exciting. There is no such thing as having a bad Game 1, regrouping, and coming out stronger for Game 2. If you lose Game 1, see ya. Similar to baseball, the NFL places a lot of emphasis on winning your division in order to make the playoffs. Last year, if you were an AFC team, you had to win your division as the AFC West took both the Wild Card spots with the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers. Unfortunately for the Wild Cards, home field isn't based on record, so a Wild Card team with a better record may end up being the road team in the first round.
Probably the most famous case of this was in 2010 when the Seattle Seahawks won a dreadful NFC West with a 7-9 record, but got to host the 11-5 New Orleans Saints. Marshawn Lynch went all BEAST MODE as the Seahawks knocked off the Saints in one of the more surprising playoff results ever. This, coupled with the Steelers and Packers mentioned earlier, would suggest that expanding the NFL playoffs wouldn't be such a bad idea. Personally, I'm not a fan.
While the Seahawks did win that game, they lost the next round and failed to make the playoffs the next year. The Steelers and Packers were both extremely talented teams who found their stride at the right time. The Steelers were actually favored in the Super Bowl against the top seeded Seahawks the year they won. The Packers, meanwhile, never lost a game by more than four points and had Aaron Rodgers as their QB. Not your typical number six seeds. Now let's take a look at the number seven seeds in 2013.
I'm assuming with this new system, that the top overall seed in each conference would get a bye with the two playing the seven, three playing the six, and five playing the four, with division leaders protected for home field advantage. With that in mind, the seventh seeded Arizona Cardinals would have been traveling to the second seeded Carolina Panthers in the NFC, while the seventh seeded Pittsburgh Steelers would have been traveling to the second seeded New England Patriots. Don't get me wrong, Arizona was a good team last year and actually beat the Panthers 22-6 earlier in the year. Still, with Carson Palmer at the helm with a matchup in Seattle the following week if they were to win, doesn't make me like their chances.
The Steelers would have drawn the scarier assignment having to go to Foxborough to face Tom Brady and the Patriots. They were already destroyed by Brady in early November to the tune of 55-31. They rallied after that game and went 6-2 down the stretch to finish 8-8. Still, only two of those wins were against playoff teams (Green Bay, Cincinnati), and the two losses were against teams that missed the playoffs (Baltimore, Miami). I think the Steelers would have gotten trounced if they were to play New England, as it would have almost been a bye for the Patriots.
With the physicality of the NFL, I think the format is good as is, especially with rewarding the top two overall teams in each conference with a bye. I hope that they hold off on expanding the playoffs, as the competitiveness is good as is. It's a revenue making opportunity for sure, as numerous fans will fill the stadium and watch on TV if an additional game was added. I just think that in terms of having the most deserving teams in the postseason in the NFL, that the current system does a good job of that.
It's not easy to determine what makes a great playoff system. Fans want to see competitiveness, but commissioners and owners see more teams and games as more revenue (see: college football playoffs). There will always be a fine line between allowing the right number of teams in and having too many in, which will inevitably vary from year to year. I just hope that leagues learn to put revenue and league exposure aside to produce the most competitive product in the postseason, whether that's with two teams or thirty.
My Playoff System Rankings (for how they fit their sport)
1. MLB
2. NFL
3. NHL
4. NBA
Matty O
1 and done is the only way tournaments should ever be played
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