What is the point of East vs West?

[sacking123]

You really don't have to change anything but the playoff seeding. You can still have the same divisions, East and West etc, but after 82 regular season games you could just have the top 16 teams fight it out regardless of division and/or conference.
Travel is not an issue at all. It might have been a problem in yesterday's NBA, but not in the modern NBA.
I understand the OP was talking about playing everyone an even amount of times to make it truly fair, but I can't see that happening too soon.
If everyone plays each other three times, who gets to have the 3rd home game or do you just rotate it each year?

[Jay10]

Making the Spurs play the 76ers would be unconstitutional.

Cruel and unusual punishment.

[Edrees]

There is no point. It's an archaic system that should be changed. NBA would get a TON of money with how close the matchups would all become in the last 2-3 rounds in the playoffs, everyone would love it. The first round may have more sweeps, btu the 2nd and 3rd rounds would have have more 7 games series.

[cb4_89]

At this point it is tradition. It used to be about travel more than anything. But you can't change that now. It is NBA tradition.

[hollabackitsobi]

Tradition

Rivalries

How would you pick AS teams?

It's not just longer distance for flights, you're also traveling across time zones. A PDX-Miami or Boston-LA first round series would be hell on all involved and would put the winning team at a distinct disadvantage in the second round.

Rivalries I understand, but is it worth the cost of a more deserving team not making the playoffs? or a better team being knocked out in a later round due to the best 2 teams being in the same conference?

AS teams - I don't care about the allstar game at all, but nothing would change here, the teams are still in the East/West it just doesn't have an effect on who makes the playoffs, top 16 get in regardless

The time zone thing I don't know, can I get an example of how bad it is? And cant these things be fixed with a couple of days rest? Having to only play 58 games a season allows more days for rest, so the playoffs can be extended and players can get rest, those dealing with small injuries can get treatment and hopefully be able to play.

For e.g. the Heat, this could have been the difference of Bosh missing most of the series or just 2 games

As a fan of the Suns, a team that has missed the playoffs for the past two years in the West but would have probably made it in the much weaker Eastern Conference, I should agree with this (and I do to an extent), but it doesn't bother me enough to change it. Every "contender" and truly deserving team will make the playoffs. If you're having to scrap and scrape to get into the playoffs, I dunno. Not so terrible if you don't make it. But I do see what you're saying.