The NBA Is Considering Adding Play-In Games To Their Playoff Structure For Reasons Currently Unknown2/22/2018 ESPN- Recent comments from NBA commissioner Adam Silver about tweaking the league's playoff format drew intense media coverage, but sources say there is also some behind-the-scenes momentum for the idea of a play-in tournament determining the last two seeds in each conference -- to the point that two specific proposals are circulating at the highest levels within teams and the league office.
The play-in proposal that has generated the most discussion, according to several sources: two four-team tournaments featuring the seventh, eighth, ninth, and 10th seeds in each conference. The seventh seed would host the eighth seed, with the winner of that single game nabbing the seventh spot, sources say. Meanwhile, the ninth seed would host the 10th seed, with the winner of that game facing the loser of the 7-versus-8 matchup for the final playoff spot. The implementation of a play-in tournament is not imminent. It falls behind the one-and-done rule and perhaps reseeding the playoffs 1-16 regardless of conference in the current reform pecking order. (It could go hand-in-hand with that change, only with one play-in tournament instead of separate brackets for each conference.) ----- Well, I'll be. The NBA's lack of parity in conjunction with their tanking epidemic has become such a conundrum that it has either stumped the league stupid or encouraged it's most trusted decision makers to start drinking on the job. I don't want to make it sound like I'm against the idea of a play-in tournament, I just have no idea what a fairly significant alteration would be aimed at solving. I'm not in the demolition business, but I don't think you take a wrecking ball to your foundation unless you have extensive plans to vastly improve it. This feels like going through the trouble of adding an addition to your home just to fill it with a 4th crapper, and the last thing the NBA needs is more shitty series to sit through. I'm a procrastinator so I haven't even gotten started on my list of ways to make the NBA postseason better, but adding even more mediocrity to a viewing experience that is largely mediocre prior to the Conference Finals is already my heavy favorite for "worst case scenario". Look, I get it. Tanking nearing it's way to becoming a necessity in constructing a truly competitive roster is an issue, but if this would just be an attempt at tricking fringe teams into trying then we've got a much bigger problem, which is that the NBA clearly has no qualms about insulting the intelligence of it's management. If the allure of playing the underdog in a mini/pity playoff where the winners inevitably get mauled by the 1 and 2 seeds has you hesitant to go all-in on a rebuild then you desperately need to replace your organizational architect, not reward him/her with playoff revenue.
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