It wouldn't be hard to adjust the schedule at all. I'm also a supporter of them cutting a few games and making the season somewhere around 72-75 games long. It's easy to say that the East is going to resurge, but think about the good teams that could fall off quickly like Toronto and Cleveland. If LeBron goes West or the Raptors lose DeRozan to an injury, the East becomes just as bad as it's always been.

As for the second change, I'm not saying all of the playoffs need to be best of five, just the first round. Most of those series are garbage anyway.

How does a play-in devalue November games? Typically the only teams that are really resting players are established squads that have the luxury of knowing they'll be making the playoffs. You rarely see teams like Utah or the Clippers resting their players since those teams need every win they can get. Adding a play-in game doesn't change that.