OT: NHL vs. NBA return to play format

[Suntouchable13]

Simply put, which format is superior? I know we're all hockey fans first here, but put away your biases and evaluate things objectively. I do believe the NBA format is superior. I like that NBA teams had 8 games to prepare for the playoffs. To jump straight into playoff hockey is not right. Teams that were just out of a playoff spot still had a chance to play themselves in. But they did not gift bad teams like Montreal, Chicago, and NYR playoff spots just because. NBA did it right.

What say you?

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[Stephen]

The NHL play-in format was a lot of fun to watch, the NBA regular season games not so much. But as the playoffs progress, the entertainment value of each league has gone in opposite directions and one glaring weakness in the NHL product emerges.

The NBA is much more of a star driven league with top heavy, stacked teams and marquee names even deep in the playoffs, even after your random upsets like the Clippers getting knocked out.

Comparatively, the entertainment value of the Stanley Cup playoffs nosedives by the time you get out of the second round. First, the NHL values parity, which precludes super teams from being formed. Secondly, star players on teams with relative parity get knocked out at random times. Third, the NHL has no sense of theatrics and doesn't know how to create storylines and market individuals for shit.

I'm an NHL guy 100% but I'd probably rather watch the Denver Nuggets than the Stanley Cup finals.

 

[Antropovsky]

Simply put, which format is superior? I know we're all hockey fans first here, but put away your biases and evaluate things objectively. I do believe the NBA format is superior. I like that NBA teams had 8 games to prepare for the playoffs. To jump straight into playoff hockey is not right. Teams that were just out of a playoff spot still had a chance to play themselves in. But they did not gift bad teams like Montreal, Chicago, and NYR playoff spots just because. NBA did it right.

What say you?

Agreed were not enough prep games.... look at a team like Boston that for years now typically gets stronger as the season goes on. Not a surprise they were booted early. I'm ok with a cup being awarded, but a huge asterisk belongs beside this years champion. Not sure how you improve the product this year... but I thought our series lacked typical Stanley cup emotion. Not sure if other games do as I haven't watched any of them. The only part of our series that felt like old time playoffs was the Clifford hit... otherwise it had the tenacity of a pick up hockey game.

 

[lovemyleafs]

The NHL play-in format was a lot of fun to watch, the NBA regular season games not so much. But as the playoffs progress, the entertainment value of each league has gone in opposite directions and one glaring weakness in the NHL product emerges.

The NBA is much more of a star driven league with top heavy, stacked teams and marquee names even deep in the playoffs, even after your random upsets like the Clippers getting knocked out.

Comparatively, the entertainment value of the Stanley Cup playoffs nosedives by the time you get out of the second round. First, the NHL values parity, which precludes super teams from being formed. Secondly, star players on teams with relative parity get knocked out at random times. Third, the NHL has no sense of theatrics and doesn't know how to create storylines and market individuals for shit.

I'm an NHL guy 100% but I'd probably rather watch the Denver Nuggets than the Stanley Cup finals.

The NBA return to play format was far superior to the NHL's.
They had preseason scrimmages, regular season games, and then the playoffs with regular format.

The NHL basically promoting 24 teams to the playoffs and totally randomizing the match-ups was very weird to say the least. We didn't play 70 regular season games expecting play the Blue Jackets at the end of it. Of course it was more favorable in our case, instead of having to play the Bolts. But it wasn't fair to teams like the Pens who were matched up against a team that had no business being there and had nothing to lose, hence made the Habs a formidable opponent.

The NHL totally changed up everything. Whereas, the NBA stuck to its regular game plan and finished out the season exactly the way it was meant to be finished.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I think the format worked in each sport. I don't think one was better than the other.

 

[Smif]

Offensive finish takes the longest to come back after you've been off for a long time. Anyone notice the SV% of all the goalies after the play-in round? Having one pre-season game and right into playoffs was a joke. The Leafs, in particular were doomed to fail.

 

[robertmac43]

I always fine the NHL playoffs are best right off the bat. That was definitely the case with the qualifying round and first round. They were chaotic and so much fun, plus going from no hockey to 12 hours a day was also awesome! The NBA playoffs get better as you go on; each series feels more intense and puts more emphasis on the stars of the game which is fun.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

As much as I hated the format with the play-in round, I absolutely loved the Olympics type schedule where there were games slammed back-to-back-to-back each day for 7 to 10 days. However, in hindsight, even though I thought the NHL should have jumped right to the playoffs, having 8 teams warm up for a few weeks only to be done in the bubble within a week seems kind of silly.

The NBA did it right where they gave teams 8ish games to get back up to speed, and there were some pretty good battles for the remaining playoff spots. And the quality of play has gotten better as each round has gone on, whereas the NHL's excitement has tapered off as the number of teams has dwindled.

Aesthetically, I like the coziness of the NBA's setup much better than the NHL's. I also think the NHL has missed not having fans more.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Both leagues have done a tremendous job under the circumstances. The television production quality has been excellent. At the end of the day, it comes down to individual preferences as far as entertainment value is concerned.

 

[bodechek]

The NHL didn't just jump into playoff hockey. Both leagues had some preliminary (the Habs wouldn't of made the playoffs based on points) to determine who was in the playoffs. As for next season, the NBA will have an easier time to start the next season since the Raptors are the only Canadian team.