In a perfect world, I think the top five should have one team from each division. That’s not about spreading the hype or artificial parity. It’s just the reality of the current playoff format, where each division is virtually assured of sending one team to the final four. (The exception would be a crossover wildcard “winning” a division it wasn’t even in, which would be very funny but has sadly never happened. Yet.)
If our top five is about the long-term view, projecting ahead to an eventual Cup winner, that final four feels like it should be our starting point.