NBA looks to alter finals format—report

Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) and San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) stand on the court during the first half of Game 6 in their NBA Finals basketball series, Tuesday, June 18, 2013 in Miami. AP FILE PHOTO

NEW YORK CITY —The NBA competition committee has voted to recommend the club owners change the NBA finals schedule, a move that could come as soon as next year, ESPN reported on Sunday.

Citing unnamed sources, ESPN’s website reported that the owners are expected to return to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for hosting games in the best-of-seven championship series, scrapping the 2-3-2 format used since 1985.

The switch is expected to be adopted at the next NBA owners meeting in October and could be used for next June’s finals of the upcoming campaign.

Supporters of the move say the current format diminishes some of the edge for the higher seed, although it does ease travel issues for teams.

The Miami Heat won a second NBA in a row last June by capturing games six and seven at home, but were only the fourth club in 29 years to achieve that distinction.