NBA

NBA's amazing race will have sad ending

Due to flawed system, powerful Spurs and Mavs likely 2nd round foes

Eric Gay / AP

Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki will likely end up facing each other in the second round of the playoffs, even though their teams will probaby end up with the second- and third-best records in the NBA.

It wasn't a huge issue before since if the teams were in the same division, the second place team would get the third seed and be in the opposite bracket from the team with the best record. That would make it an equitable playoff with the teams with likely the second and third best records playing off in the opposite bracket and likely meeting the team with the best record in the conference finals.

But this is what's likely to happen this season:

The Spurs have the best record in the West, though that could change with them and the Mavericks trading it back and forth the past few weeks. But say the Spurs end with the best record. The Suns, currently with the third best record, can't catch Dallas.

That means San Antonio opens the playoffs as No. 1 seed against No. 8. But then it's Phoenix No. 2 against No. 7 and likely Northwest winner Denver No. 3, despite now some 15 games behind Dallas, against No. 6. Then Dallas would be No. 4, playing a tougher team at No. 5 and in the bracket with the Spurs.

The division situation with the Spurs and Mavericks is no anomaly with those teams with the two best records in 2002-03 and with two of the three best last season.

The NBA is committed to correcting the error, though it doesn't consider it one for now. There has been talk of reseeding after the first round, which the league has resisted in the past when there was talk of the imbalance between Eastern and Western Conference for the NBA Finals. And it doesn't want to divest itself of its divisions, even if such championship celebrations are unknown to everyone but the team marketing departments and stationery makers.

So here's what will happen next season: The division winners all will get a top four seed and home court advantage, but the seeding would be done by record. So if the first and second place teams were in the same division, like the Spurs and Mavs are now, if the Spurs get No. 1, the Mavs would get No. 2 and be in the opposite bracket with a showdown if they get that far not until the conference finals. Which is the only equitable solution. If a team doesn't get to the conference finals showdown, it has no one to blame but itself. Now, the blame may fall to David Stern.

Which, on second thought, Mark Cuban might not have any problems with based on some of the things he's said before about the NBA.

Sam Smith is a contributor to NBCSports.com and is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

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