So I'm thinking of how the future will look with 32 teams in the league (this realignment seems to be pointing in that direction). My idea is to have 4 divisions in each conference. Best two teams in each division play in a divisional playoff and then the winner of the divisional championships are re-seeded according to standings. Finals are winner of West vs. Winner of East.
As for the season breakdown it would look something like this:
Divisional play - 4 games against 3 teams:
4 x 3 = 12 games
Non Divisional conference play - 3 games against 12 teams:
3 x 12 = 36
Out of Conference play - 2 games against 16 teams:
2 x 16 = 32
Total = 80 games
If they want to keep an 82 game schedule, they can play an extra 2 games within the division. So 4 games against one opponent and 5 games against 2 opponents.
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