NBA play-in games: Good Idea? Bad Idea?

[EvilBetty]

The play in games make me care even less about the NBA than I already do (which is very little). The lowest seed ever to win a title was a 6 seed and that was in the 90's. So they expand it to potentially let a 10 seed into the playoffs with a losing record?

 

[PSYclone22]

The play in games make me care even less about the NBA than I already do (which is very little). The lowest seed ever to win a title was a 6 seed and that was in the 90's. So they expand it to potentially let a 10 seed into the playoffs with a losing record?

Pretty clear you care very little: a team with a losing record has made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference for about 15 of the last 20 years.

Regardless of that, I like it because it forces the mega teams to actually play in the regular season to ensure they don't fall into that 7-8 range and have to play a game instead of resting before round 1.

 

[Skyh13]

I don't find the play-ins all that interesting except that it almost allowed my Bulls who don't deserve to be in the playoffs to "be" in the playoffs. But.. they proved they still aren't even good enough for that.

It doesn't change the trajectory of the playoffs as a whole, though. I think the NBA would have to materially shorten the number of games per series to allow a couple of off-nights to sink the better team. That's why the NCAA tournament is almost random, because it's just 1 game, as opposed to a 5 or 7 game series.

And that's the thing, even if my team made it in, they have absolutely no shot at doing anything, so it's just kind of uninteresting. And leads me back to the original point, what does it matter if there's a play-in game or not? You already don't expect anybody past 1-4 in each conference to do anything interesting in the playoffs, so if #10 gets in instead of #6 or whatever, who cares? Not to mention, it's still the NBA, most teams outside of the 1 or 2 worst and the 1 or 2 best in the entire league are comparable to a certain degree.

 

[CYdTracked]

I used to care more about the NBA than college basketball when I was in HS and college and over the years I pretty much lost interest entirely. I don't see the point of the play in games because in the East right now the 8th best team is 2 games under .500 and in the West it is the 9th team 3 games under .500. Either way you look at it whoever plays into those last seeds likely are just going to loose in the first round so would you rather see the the 7th and 8th best regular season teams play more competitive games or the 9th or 10th best teams potentially get blown out? Either way you spin it, it is not going to make the 1st round matchups any more entertaining because the odds are the top 2 seeds are going to beat any mediocre team they wind up playing.

 

[RonBurgundy]

I don't think it should stay, but last year was a lost season with COVID. This year had the potential for lots of disruption also, so I don't mind that they expanded the chance to make the final eight. They had it planned from the beginning, before knowing that COVID would not cause as much havoc, so play it out. But it probably ought to be scrapped in the future. You have an entire season to demonstrate you are in the top 8. No reason to give a team a fluke shot to beat you after they finished ninth or tenth.

 

[CYdTracked]

I don't find the play-ins all that interesting except that it almost allowed my Bulls who don't deserve to be in the playoffs to "be" in the playoffs. But.. they proved they still aren't even good enough for that.

It doesn't change the trajectory of the playoffs as a whole, though. I think the NBA would have to materially shorten the number of games per series to allow a couple of off-nights to sink the better team. That's why the NCAA tournament is almost random, because it's just 1 game, as opposed to a 5 or 7 game series.

And that's the thing, even if my team made it in, they have absolutely no shot at doing anything, so it's just kind of uninteresting. And leads me back to the original point, what does it matter if there's a play-in game or not? You already don't expect anybody past 1-4 in each conference to do anything interesting in the playoffs, so if #10 gets in instead of #6 or whatever, who cares? Not to mention, it's still the NBA, most teams outside of the 1 or 2 worst and the 1 or 2 best in the entire league are comparable to a certain degree.

I've casually followed the Bulls because I was a huge fan growing up in the MJ years so they are still my team but holy crap that roster even after the Vucevic trade that was supposed to be the missing piece to make them a playoff team is still a trainwreck. It's like a roster full of talented pieces that just don't mesh well. LaVine is having a career year and they still stink. Marrkanen has never turned into the player they thought he would and probably the 3rd best player on the team in T Young has to come off the bench. I will give the new GM some credit for trying to shake up the roster but this team really needs either to draft or sign a franchise changing type of player because right now they have some nice pieces but no real upper tier caliber players that you need to compete in the NBA. LaVine is probably a nice sidekick or 3rd player on a contending team but he's not a guy that will carry a team to a championship.

 

[brentblum]

It generates an extra six “Playoff” games which means more interest and more TV eyeballs = more revenue. Simple as that for a league that has had financial shortages. I’ll be one of 19 folks in Iowa watching.

 

[qwerty]

IT IS NOT A PLAY IN GAME!!!!

(It's a play in game . . .)

 

[Acylum]

Ask Bronnie. Of course, his answer will depend on where his team happens to be in the standings that season.

 

[mj4cy]

If it deters tanking, I say lets give it a shot and see how it goes. Also helps teams from sitting their stars too much to avoid the play in games.

 

[heitclone]

I like it, the more competitive games the better. This year is pretty unique, you could have Lebron/AD and Steph playing in the west and in the east you have Tatum and Russ involved.

 

[Macloney]

I hated the idea of the MLB Wild Card Games when they started it, but always watched it and now think of it as completely normal. I guess my reason was that I thought it just watered down the importance of the regular season when so many teams can get in.

I will watch the NBA Play In Games for sure, but we watch a lot of NBA games.

 

[CloneGuy8]

It makes the beginning of the playoffs more exciting. I'm all for that.

 

[Cyclonefan710]

I love it

 

[Acylum]

I hated the idea of the MLB Wild Card Games when they started it, but always watched it and now think of it as completely normal. I guess my reason was that I thought it just watered down the importance of the regular season when so many teams can get in.

I will watch the NBA Play In Games for sure, but we watch a lot of NBA games.

One game playoffs for baseball are idiotic because it’s pure luck depending on how the pitching rotations happen to fall. The nba doesn’t have that aspect but I still think one game playoffs are kinda stupid.

 

[Pat]

If it deters tanking, I say lets give it a shot and see how it goes. Also helps teams from sitting their stars too much to avoid the play in games.

Yeah, it won’t change playoff outcomes significantly, but the late-season games are suddenly meaningful, now. 4-6 seeds that would be coasting are trying like mad to avoid falling, 7-12 are trying to move up to avoid/get in to the play-in. I don’t know if the format is right, but the last month of regular season games are a lot more interesting.

 

[EvilBetty]

If it deters tanking, I say lets give it a shot and see how it goes. Also helps teams from sitting their stars too much to avoid the play in games.

If you are hovering on the 8-11 seed for the playoffs, are those teams really tanking? Real question. Has that been a problem? I always thought the bottom of the barrel teams intentionally tanked. Does that strategy go that high up in the pecking order?

 

[Sigmapolis]

My favorite idea was making the teams that *do not* make the playoffs play a single-elimination tournament for the rights to the top four picks. That would cut down on the tanking pretty quickly there.

 

[Halincandenza]

I like it. Think it adds more intrigue to the NBA playoffs.

 

[Halincandenza]

My favorite idea was making the teams that *do not* make the playoffs play a single-elimination tournament for the rights to the top four picks. That would cut down on the tanking pretty quickly there.

I like that. That would be fun.