NBA Play-in tournament

[Draco]

Hollinger has an interesting insider article up.

Of late, momentum has gathered for a "play-in" tournament at the end of the season. Championed by Denver Nuggets VP of basketball operations Mark Warkentien during the most recent competition committee meeting at the All-Star break, the idea is to have the league's bottom-feeders meet in a brief season-end extravaganza, with one survivor advancing to the "real" playoffs afterward.

Instead, we would have teams like New York and Detroit spending the last month of the season gearing up for the play-in tournament, a single-elimination extravaganza at the end of the regular season in which each conference determines its eighth playoff team.

How would it work? A couple of different variations are possible, but the basic idea is to guarantee the first seven playoff spots to the teams with the best records, and then leave spot No. 8 up for grabs among the remaining clubs. No. 8 would play No. 15; No. 9 would play No. 14; No. 10 would play No. 13; and No. 11 and would play No. 12. The winners would face off in the semis the next day and the losers would go home. Then the two semifinal winners would meet for a postseason slot.

Hollinger has an idea for another variation where the No. 8 team gets a bye in the play-in tournament, but the No. 15 team, last place in the conference, is eliminated and goes straight to the lottery.

I really like the idea, it would add a little fun at the end of the year and could reduce the incentive to tank.

 

[Blazer_Hippie]

So, the season would end in July then?

 

[KingSpeed]

I love the idea. That would be very exciting.

 

[KingSpeed]

So, the season would end in July then?

The Play-In tourney would only take 3 days.

 

[Eastoff]

The Play-In tourney would only take 3 days.

with a little time probably before the actual play offs, but yeah, I like this idea! It keeps teams having hope and cinderella stories

 

[Webster's Dictionary]

It's interesting. No doubt trying to capture some of the March Madness magic. I could see it though.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

It's interesting. No doubt trying to capture some of the March Madness magic. I could see it though.

I like that it gives the real playoff teams a three-day rest while the unwashed masses fight over who gets to lose to the Lakers/Cavs.

...yes, I think we could make 7th place this season.

 

[mgb]

I don't see how that would stop teams from tanking if I understand it right. I should probably read the article, but if a team tank the end of the season they'll tank the playoff rather than losing in the first round of the reg playoffs and being out of the lottery completely.

 

[Draco]

I don't see how that would stop teams from tanking if I understand it right. I should probably read the article, but if a team tank the end of the season they'll tank the playoff rather than losing in the first round of the reg playoffs and being out of the lottery completely.

Naaa, it's easier to just throw your opinion around then actually understand what your talking about.

 

[Sug]

So the league that already allows half the teams into the playoffs needs to let more in?

Here is my suggestion, play an 82 game "tourney" where each team plays one another at least twice. You would play some teams three times and even some four. You could divide the teams evenly based on geography, then the top 8 teams from each conference would be in the playoffs. The teams with the best records would get home court advantage.

 

[mgb]

Naaa, it's easier to just throw your opinion around then actually understand what your talking about.

Well I went by what was posted in this thread. Do you disagree with what I said? I mean other than not reading the whole article? Perhaps I made a mistake going by what you posted.

 

[Masbee]

This is an excellent idea.

I prefer the 8th seed get the bye and the last place team is out to start. But either variation will work as long as no more than 4 days is added to the season.

There is an incentive for these teams to fight for the final 8th spot just to get destroyed by the first place team: extra ticket sales, National TV exposure, playoff bonus money. Teams and players want this. Then you end up with a "Hot" team matching up with the no 1 seed.

 

[bluefrog]

I think it's a great idea too. I suggest two changes:

1- take the top 2 teams from each division and the 7th & 8th seeds would be decided by the tournament.

2- Draft odds would be decided by play-off results, with the teams that advance the farthest receiving more ping pong balls at the drawing.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I think it's a great idea too. I suggest two changes:

1- take the top 2 teams from each division and the 7th & 8th seeds would be decided by the tournament.

2- Draft odds would be decided by play-off results, with the teams that advance the farthest receiving more ping pong balls at the drawing.

My gut tells me that number two is troublesome drumroll. It creates a situation where a borderline team might come in around 7th or 8th, kick ass in the tourney, but tank the semifinal game. Boom, instant lotto gold.

In other words, it's more likely to help a 2009-10 Blazers (not awful, but borderline this year) than a 2009-10 Nets (very bad, and needs players). The currently bad will stay very bad, and the mediocre will never fall below mediocre. Not a bad plan if you also plan to contract the league by about 6 teams.

 

[axs88]

Well I went by what was posted in this thread. Do you disagree with what I said? I mean other than not reading the whole article? Perhaps I made a mistake going by what you posted.

Not to mention the article is on Insider.

 

[bluefrog]

Originally Posted by bluefrog
I think it's a great idea too. I suggest two changes:

1- take the top 2 teams from each division and the 7th & 8th seeds would be decided by the tournament.

2- Draft odds would be decided by play-off results, with the teams that advance the farthest receiving more ping pong balls at the drawing.

My gut tells me that number two is troublesome drumroll. It creates a situation where a borderline team might come in around 7th or 8th, kick ass in the tourney, but tank the semifinal game. Boom, instant lotto gold.

In other words, it's more likely to help a 2009-10 Blazers (not awful, but borderline this year) than a 2009-10 Nets (very bad, and needs players). The currently bad will stay very bad, and the mediocre will never fall below mediocre. Not a bad plan if you also plan to contract the league by about 6 teams.

Good point, Maybe decide draft odds by some sort of weighted average between the regular season record and Play-in tournament results.

If draft odds are partially decided by good performances in a play-in tournament it gives the organization incentive to win. Also, it's something to keep fans interested in a bad team late in the season.

 

[drexlersdad]

not a bad idea, the teams would make a little extra revenue, and for two crappy teams it would be like winning the title, kinda like a college conference championship.

 

[ebott]

I love it. I think it's up there with eliminating guaranteed contracts and letting in the top 16 teams rather than the top 8 from each conference as far as changes that would benefit the fans.

 

[mrkorb]

So the league that already allows half the teams into the playoffs needs to let more in?

Here is my suggestion, play an 82 game "tourney" where each team plays one another at least twice. You would play some teams three times and even some four. You could divide the teams evenly based on geography, then the top 8 teams from each conference would be in the playoffs. The teams with the best records would get home court advantage.

There's no way they'd do something so stupidly complicated like that.