Faced with mounting criticism over its postseason format, the NBA Board of Governors on Tuesday approved modifications that will base playoff seeding strictly on regular-season records.
The Board of Governors also approved changes to the tiebreak procedures for seeding and homecourt advantage. The top criterion will now be head-to-head records, followed by whether a team won its division.
Division winners had been guaranteed of at least a top-four seed, although not homecourt advantage if its playoff opponent had a better record.
The different format would have had an impact on the Spurs, who won 55 games last season but were seeded below Portland, which won the Northwest Division with 51 victories.