This has been bad. Really bad. Really, really bad. I’m sorry if I’m not saying this with any grace or poetry, but the first version of this article got lost in some weird discussion of existentialism. I decided to scrap it and take a direct approach. We can all agree that aside from a few Thunder-Mavs games and Clippers-Grizzlies games, these playoffs have been pretty awful.

I choose to believe this means the second round is going to be awesome. If the first round is so lopsided, then the second round has to be packed, close, right? I guess sacrificing a first round is worth it if the rest of the playoffs are going to be extra competitive. Sure we aren’t getting a remix of the 2007 Dallas-Golden State series, but that also means we won’t be getting a remix of the 2007 Utah-Golden State series, either. There’s something to be said for that.

Have we ever considered that maybe four rounds is one round too many? I would like to think that taking four teams from each conference wouldn’t be so bad. We would get closely competitive series from the start, and it would give a bit more meaning to the regular season. Right now, it’s pretty easy to get into the playoffs — over half the league does it. Especially in the Western Conference, it would be interesting to watch five-to-eight playoff quality teams each year fight for four spots. In the Eastern Conference, it would eliminate what is usually a technical bypass round.

And hey, teams may even be less afraid to improve steadily if it meant they could have the seventh best record in their conference and still be in the lottery. Only teams with a legitimate chance of making a run for the Finals (even if it’s only an off-chance) make it to the playoffs. There would be less pressure for shit teams like the Knicks to make the playoffs since only eight teams out of 30 would make it. And, hey, maybe that would force GMs to make good decisions since throwing Carmelo and Amare onto a team isn’t enough to cut it by itself anymore.

I just don’t think the occasional upset is worth having to watch these playoffs and having to deal with “tanking” “problems” “arguments” and having the existence of the entire meaningless last month of the regular season. We all want every game to matter more. So why do I have to watch the first round? Especially this year… why?