WNBA knockout match format change – Solve or ‘fix’?

The WNBA on Thursday announced that it is change its playoff format, most notably removing the knockout and goodbye games.

Starting with the 2022 WNBA season, the eight teams with the highest win percentage on a 36-match pre-season schedule and are seeded by record. The first round – where the 1st seed plays against the 8th seed, the 2nd vs 7th seed, etc. – consists of the 4 winners of the 3rd series. The WNBA Semifinals and Finals will continue to be a series of five-player matches. .

The playoff changes are the WNBA’s first since 2016, when the top two seeds were split into the semifinals, the third and fourth seeds were bid farewell to the second round, and the knockouts Next decides the first and second turns.

During the WNBA 2021 post-production period, protest render one-time elimination games throughout the league, and league coaches believe the playoff format will change.

Now that they’re here, we break down the biggest winners and break down the areas that could face the most scrutiny – and suggest future change.

For the first time since 2016, the WNBA changed its knockout format. What did the tournament do right?

Voepel: It seems like everyone I spoke to this past season – the players, coaches and general manager – is ready to scrap the knockouts. They can be fun, no doubt, like the NCAA tournament games. But it did mean some pretty good players were knocked out of the knockout stages the night after the tournament kicked off and didn’t get a chance for the teams to adjust after losing. That doesn’t seem to be the best thing for a professional league.

In fact, WNBA Players Association executive director Terri Jackson says that eliminating the knockouts is one of the main goals of the players, who feel the format is being squeezed by the federation. tie.

One thing the players did was keep the top eight seeds regardless of conference. It seems that no one wants to return to the top 4 from both the Eastern and Western Conferences to make it to the knockout stages, which is the format of the 2000-15 tournament.

The big change to the games in 2016 has brought us some of the best Finals we’ve seen, coincidentally featuring teams from the same games: 2016 and ’17 (Los). Angeles vs. Minnesota) and 2019 (Washington vs. Connecticut). I wouldn’t want to lose that. But I’m okay with the top two seeds not saying goodbye anymore. It’s not that I want to devalue the regular season, but I’ve never been satisfied with teams not playing at all during the first few days of the knockouts.

Pelton: Keeping the knockout stage single without a conference is probably my favorite aspect of the new format. I agree with Mechelle that it produced some better games than we would have had when there was an imbalance between the two conferences.

Besides, just getting more WNBA knockouts seems like a good thing, even if it creates scheduling challenges.

What is your biggest concern with the new format?

Pelton: I think that’s the potential for overcorrection – from giving the top two seeds a big boost instead of devaluing the regular season like Mechelle mentioned. This change is interesting as opposed to the NBA adding a knockout tournament (knockout to the loser of the 9th and 10th seeded tie), which has been touted by the NBA’s executive vice president. on strategy and analysis Evan Wasch for creating more break points – to get into the top six and avoid the play-ins – then seeding in that.

The old WNBA format had tons of breakpoints with multiple byte sets. Sure, teams will still have an incentive to get home advantage, but there’s not nearly as much benefit left of finishing in the lead. Adds in a longer post-season period (up to 13 games, compared with up to 10 for teams with double the previous goals) and a longer regular season (expanded from 34 games to 36) , and I suspect we’ll see more teams resting at the end of the season instead of pushing every win.

Voepel: The 2-1 format of the first round – with the better seed hosting games 1 and 2, and the lower seed hosting games 3 if needed – could be a problem. A series of sweeps meant the lower-seeded team didn’t get a playoff at home. But if the series goes far, the deciding game has a better laning seed. And that’s not a good setup either.

The old format initially had the first match of the best 3-seeded series hosted by the lower seed, followed by the final two games hosted by the better seed. That also matters, because the team with the best track record has to pave the way.

Then in 2010, the league switched to the fairest format for the best three-game series: 1-1-1, used for conference semi-finals and conference finals. However, in this current format, 1-1-1 will yield even more trips, which is difficult as the semi-final is currently the best of the 5.

If the league cannot draw 1-1-1, then 1-2 might be a better choice than 2-1. Below 1-2, both teams are guaranteed a home spot, although that puts the better seed more at risk of being eliminated.

The 2022 season will include 36 regular-season games and eight additional playoff games. How difficult will it be to squeeze into the many matches surrounding the FIBA ​​World Cup, which begins at the end of September?

Voepel: This is a big concern for the coaches I spoke to during the season, who are pretty sure about the upcoming playoff changes. The FIBA ​​Women’s Basketball World Cup runs from September 22 to October 1 in Australia. With the All-Star Game, the Commissioner’s Cup, and the regular open season, that’s a lot of games in a compact timeframe. The WNBA has to do this every four years to be able to host the World Cup, but it hasn’t been easy.

The concern is to keep the players as healthy as possible, and travel will come for a fee. We’ve seen more head-to-head matches in the same venue this past season to limit some trips and we can expect more. And the coaches will have to be smart about managing the load. You still want to get the highest possible seed, but when the 1-2 bye is gone, resting players can be seen as more important.

The WNBA will continue to reshape its playoff format in the years to come. What changes do you predict will happen in the next wave?

Pelton: The first time a better seed hit the road in Game 3 and lost, we’ll likely hear how unfair that is to them and change to come. Another thing to watch out for is whether or not the WNBA will return to reclassifying seeded teams between rounds, a sneaky boon for the old-school format top seeds. In the event of a loss in the first leg, the top seed may have a harder time reaching the Finals than the 2nd seed.

Voepel: It’s hard to see how the 1-2 for the first round lasts so long. Looks like it won’t be popular with fans. One day, I want to see one of the Best 7 Finals, but the more games you add, the more problems the schedule has to work out. However, it seems like it would be a natural progression.

If the long-discussed expansion happens, the federation could one day think of a return to splitting the knockout stages between the Eastern and Western conferences, especially if the league goes up to 16. team. But if the expansion stops at just 14 teams, I think it will stay that way, with the top eight going through regardless of any congress.