The NBA announced on Sunday that its competition committee has voted to recommend changing the format of the NBA Finals from its current 2-3-2 scheduling to the 2-2-1-1-1 format used in every other playoff round.
"“The idea was raised at the competition committee and was well-received and the committee ultimately unanimously voted to recommend the change in format,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank told ESPN.com on Sunday."
Sources told ESPN.com that the change is expected to be adopted at the owners meeting next month and could be in place for the 2013-14 NBA Finals next June.
The 2-3-2 format has been in place for 29 seasons, since the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers met in the 1985 NBA Finals. The reason for the change, at the time, was that teams flew on commercial flights and the demands of cross-country trips in the 2-2-1-1-1 format could be grueling.
However, those days are long gone. NBA teams fly charter now, making travel much less demanding.
Proponents of the change believe the 2-3-2 format takes away from the homecourt advantage and the numbers bear that out. The Miami Heat won Games 6 and 7 at home last June to become just the fourth team in 29 years of the scheduling format to come back from a 3-2 deficit with two straight wins at home.
Another aspect to the format change is the belief that the Finals would be more likely to go to the full seven games if the lower seeded team were at home for Game 6.
Here is a look at the NBA Finals that went to seven games in the 2-2-1-1-1 format and the home team result for each game:
| Year | Team With Homecourt Listed Second | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Series Result |
| 1951 | New York Knicks vs. Rochester Royals | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | Rochester wins 4-3 |
| 1952 | New York Knicks vs. Minneapolis Lakers | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | Minneapolis wins 4-3 |
| 1957 | St. Louis Hawks vs. Boston Celtics | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | Boston wins 4-3 |
| 1960 | St. Louis Hawks vs. Boston Celtics | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | Boston wins 4-3 |
| 1962 | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | Boston wins 4-3 |
| 1966 | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | Boston wins 4-3 |
| 1969 | Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | Boston wins 4-3 |
| 1970 | Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | New York wins 4-3 |
| 1974 | Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | Boston wins 4-3 |
| 1984 | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | Boston wins 4-3 |
And compare that to the 2-3-2 format, which was also used in 1954 and 1955:
| 1954 | Syracuse Nationals vs. Minneapolis Lakers | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | Minneapolis wins 4-3 |
| 1955 | Fort Wayne Pistons vs. Syracuse Nationals | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | Syracuse wins 4-3 |
| 1988 | Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | L.A. Lakers win 4-3 |
| 1994 | New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | Houston wins 4-3 |
| 2005 | Detroit Pistons vs. San Antonio Spurs | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | San Antonio wins 4-3 |
| 2010 | Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | L.A. Lakers win 4-3 |
| 2013 | San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | Miami wins 4-3 |
Then there was 1978, which was played using a 1-2-2-1-1 format because of a scheduling conflict in Seattle, which had homecourt advantage. The first game was played in Seattle. Then the series moved to Landover, Md., for the next two games, then back to Seattle for Games 4 and 5, Landover for Game 6 and, finally, Game 7 back in Seattle.
| 1978 | Washington Bullets vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | Washington wins 4-3 |
1978 also marks the last time a road team won a Game 7 in the NBA Finals and for any fans who worry that a 2-2-1-1-1 series will take too long to play, take heart—there has never been a longer seven-game series in the history of North American sports than the 1978 NBA Finals, which took 18 days to complete. Game 1 was played on May 21 with Game 7 not happening until June 7.
The sample sizes are small, but show that home teams are 8-2 in Game 7 under the 2-2-1-1-1 format versus 7-0 in Game 7 with the 2-3-2 (and 0-1 in the 1-2-2-1-1 format that we’ll likely never see again).
What is interesting, though, is to look at any possible carryover from Game 6 to Game 7. In the 11 Finals played under the 2-2-1-1-1 or 1-2-2-1-1, the team that won Game 6 also won Game 7 just three times (Boston in 1962, Boston in 1969 and Washington in 1978).
In the seven Finals that went the distance under the 2-3-2, the Game 6 winner also won Game 7 five times out of seven—presumably an easier task because both games were at home. The lone exceptions were in 1954 (Minneapolis lost Game 6, won Game 7) and 2005 (San Antonio lost Game 6, won Game 7).
At the end of the day, competitive fairness should win the day and the 2-2-1-1-1 format maximizes the homecourt advantage for the team that has earned it.
Given the relative ease of travel compared to 30 years ago, it’s a move that’s long overdue.
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