Brad Botkin

In 2015， the NBA made a relatively quiet change to its playoff structure， eliminating the automatic top-four seed for all division winners. The logic was， and remains， as sound as it is simple： Rewarding a lesser team for playing in a weaker division makes no sense. Why would rewarding a team from a lesser conference， or penalizing a team from a tougher conference for that matter， be any different？

2015年，NBA对季后赛赛制进行了一次微小的调整，取消了各赛区第一自动进入东西部前四的规定。背后的逻辑扎实又简单：给在一个弱小赛区的较差球队好处没有道理可言。在这个问题上，回馈较差分区实力较弱的球队和惩罚较强分区更强的球队，究竟有什么区别？

The idea of going to a straight 1-16 playoff seeding， regardless of conference， has been a hotbutton topic among new-age fans for a while， if a back-burner one for the league. But its moving to the forefront. Commissioner Adam Silver has addressed the possibility with increasing regularity， and urgency， of late. On Saturday， the Celtics and the Rockets gave us a thrilling glimpse into what a wide-open playoff bracket could look like with arguably the best game of the season.

即便联盟不重视，但无视东西部分区，直接按1到16号种子排名进行季后赛，已经是新一代球迷热议的话题。现在，这个话题终于走到了前台。总裁亚当·萧华最近强调了提高规范和紧迫性的可能。周六，凯尔特人和火箭用一场堪称赛季最佳的比赛，让我们初窥开放型季后赛的魅力。

"Ive been saying this for like 10 years， man，" two-time NBA champion and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith told CBS Sports at All-Star weekend. "NBA fans dont care [about conferences]. They want to see the best two teams playing in the Finals."

“老兄，10年了我一直这么说。”两届NBA总冠军，目前在TNT担任解说的肯尼·史密斯全明星周末期间接受CBS体育采访时表示，“NBA球迷不在乎（分区），他们想看到最好的两支球队打总决赛。”

You cant argue this. There isnt a basketball fan on earth that doesnt want to see the best two teams going at it for the title. Thats the purest part of sports. Now， you could say that in Cleveland and Golden State， weve gotten the best two teams in the Finals the last three years. You could even argue this is the case most years. What you cant argue is that the respective playoff roads traveled to get to that point have been anywhere near equal for close to 20 years.

這话没错。地球上还没有哪个球迷不愿意看到最好的两支球队争夺总冠军，那是体育最纯粹的部分。这种说法放在骑士和勇士身上是没错的，过去三年，我们看到了两支最优秀的球队在总决赛里竞争。你甚至可以说，大部分时候总决赛里都是两支最好的球队。但过去20年里，你不能说两支球队的总决赛之路难度是平等的。

With few exceptions， the West has been the collectively superior conference dating back as far as some of these young fans have been alive. Remember that 73-win Warriors team that lost in the Finals in 2016？ It had to go through a seven-game basketball war with Oklahoma City in the conference finals. If the Thunder， who had a 3-1 series lead if you recall， wouldve gotten past the Warriors， that wouldve been even more egregious.

除了少数例外，从一些年轻球迷出生时起，西部球队的实力一直更为出众。还记得输掉2016年总决赛的73胜勇士吗？他们先是在西部决赛里七场大战突破了雷霆。如果你还记得，当时3比1领先的雷霆如果能击败勇士，那他们晋级总决赛所面临的难度相比较是更大的。……