The NBA is considering a World Cup style group stage for the first round of the playoffs, when basketball returns.
Under the format, the 16 current playoff teams would qualify for the group stage, plus the four teams with the next-best records.
Groups could then be randomly drawn, with one team from each tier going into each group.
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Teams would play opponents within their own groups twice, meaning every team would play eight games.
The two teams in each group with the best record would move on.
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