if you scrap the division winner, you might as well scrap the divisions, as they'd have no point anymore Effectively, they already did that. Miami won their division this year but got rewarded by having to play the Bulls who, despited being the fifth seed, had the third best record in the East. And the Heat didn't even get home court advantage in the first round. but the division winners are guaranteed at least a 4th seed. if you scrapped the division winners, the bulls would have been the #3 and Miami the #5 And if you're Miami, who would you rather play in the first round, the Bulls (who they got under the current system) or the Raptors (who had the fourth best record in the league)? That guarantee actually hurt Miami. they knew the seeding rules and should have played better to avoid a bad matchup