ABA's Big Fortnight â Playoff's, All-Stars And More Playoffs, Part I
by Ed Gross
March 13, 2008 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
For the most part, the American Basketball Association's regular season can officially and mercifully be considered over... and once again, the carnage is abundant. What began as another season in the "fastest growing" sports league quickly became another cut and paste season. In the end, approximately 20 of 36 franchises remained active. Many have not seen the court in months. The number of games by each franchise varied to an unacceptable rate. In the end, many of those franchises that remained active on the court could only be considered survivors.
The ABA now enters the post-season with a playoff format as confusing as the the league's blueprint over the past seven years. Here is what we know, so far:
Five teams have received a bye to the Final Eight in Quebec City: Vermont, Manchester, San Diego, Texas and Quebec. Based on league Power Rankings, only Quebec didn't actually finish in the top five. In the ABA, playing the role of host city does have its privileges.
Finding the last three teams to fill the Final Eight becomes interesting. In the South, the well-rested West Texas Whirlwinds will take on the equally rested Georgia Gwizzlies on Friday. The winner of that game will travel to Atlanta to take on the Vision with the winner earning a trip to the finals. One down.
In the West, Maywood will host a playoff tournament . In round one, Maywood is scheduled to play Long Beach, while San Francisco will play Orange County. The winners of those games will meet on Sunday for the right to travel to Quebec City. Two down.
In the Northeast, easily the most stable of ABA divisions, it gets even more interesting. Jersey was originally scheduled to play Boston, while Montreal was to play Westchester. The winners of those two games would then meet for the right to play Halifax for the final playoff spot. However, since the original release the league office has "chosen to remove Westchester and Boston from playoff eligibility," meaning that now Jersey will play Montreal with the winner going on to face Halifax for the right to play in the Final Eight. Three down (one can only hope).
Long time followers of this league know that any of these arrangements are subject to change. These tournaments are hardly confidence builders for local media, fans or anyone who hopes that their franchise will be around next week, let alone next season. Lost in this shuffle, primarily because it has been mentioned before, are the atrocious records and limited number of games played by many of these teams. One can only hope the league sees this and listens to its critics. This playoff system has long been considered flawed. Nothing has happened in 2008, that makes this all seem like nothing near a solution, perhaps even a system in the future that doesn't consist of dormant teams and an announcement of its plan less then two weeks before the end of the regular season.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
American Basketball Association Stories from March 13, 2008
- Final ABA All Star Participants Named - ABA
- Atlanta Vision player has his own anthem - Atlanta Vision
- The ABA's Big Fortnight â Playoff's, All-Stars And More Playoffs, Part II - OSC Original by Ed Gross
- ABA's Big Fortnight â Playoff's, All-Stars And More Playoffs, Part I - OSC Original by Ed Gross
- Jersey Express To Join The Dover Coaches Benefit - Jersey Express
- Rainmen forced to make two schedule changes - Halifax Rainmen
- West Texas Whirlwinds in Georgia for Playoffs - Georgia Gwizzlies
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
