Blowout basketball has been unmistakably abundant during this year's NBA postseason.
In fact, this postseason's average margin of victory (12.9) has been the highest during the playoffs since the 2017-2018 season. There have been 22 postseason games decided by at least 20 points, and the record of 24 from the 2015-16 playoffs still has time to be broken.
In addition, a whopping seven games have been decided by 30 points or more, which is tied for second-most all-time with the 1995-96 campaign.
Phoenix suffered its worst-ever playoff loss in a crushing 123-90 defeat to Dallas, which was then beaten by double-digits in three of its four losses to Golden State in the Western Conference finals.
And in the East finals, no game was within single-digits heading into the fourth quarter until the sixth game of that seven-game series featuring Boston and Miami.
However, Colin Cowherd has a solution to the plague that's hampering fans' viewing pleasure — and it involves altering the availability of the 3-pointer.
"The games aren't as good," he said Tuesday on "The Herd." "The raw numbers on 3-point shots have gone from 20 to 35 per game. You're probably at your best when it's in the mid-to-high 20s. And it's trending up. It's too much."
"Here's a great example: The Chicago Bulls of the '90s had the greatest player, coach and duo of all-time. Go to the last series against Utah. With one exception, the other games were within five points. Utah is a team that never won a title against arguably the greatest. It was simply harder to blow people out, even Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen."
Colin's solution to decreasing blowouts in the NBA
Cowherd's solution is simple: Eliminate the corner 3.
"My solution to the NBA, since owners are never going to give up seven-game series, is take out the corner 3, therefore allowing defenses to more easily defend angle and top-of-the-key 3s. Now, Stephen Curry is still going to hit his, but when you don't have the corner, it makes it easier to defend. And I would move out the line two or three inches.
"Just make the 3 a little tougher. The NFL and NBA have aided offense because that's what the fans like. I just think it's a little too easy now."
The NBA has found itself painted into a corner with all the blowouts it has seen over the course of the postseason.
But a classic series between the Warriors and Celtics could possibly serve as the solution — assuming Adam Silver doesn't call Cowherd first.
