NBA officially confirms In-Season Tournament

[YogurtProducer]

Agree the cup games need to be more separate, rather than mixed among RS games. And of course cup games are regular season games too. Whereas in English soccer the Cup games may be interspersed during the season, but every fan knows, this is a Cup game, this is a league game.

IMO if they continue with the cup game, they need to adopt a "points" based standings system rather than "wins".

Something like a win in the regular season is "1 point" and then allocate points based on where you finish in the "mid season tournament". If it is 10 games long make first place worth 15 points or something. Gives more value than a regular season game and gives some real incentive to win the thing if you get 5 "Free" wins.

The regular season is not taken seriously anyways, so why do we need to act like 82-games and playoffs is purely "w/l" based is some sacred thing we can never steer away from

These should be used as The first Tie Breaker
Regulation Win = 2 Points
Regulation Loss = 0 Points
Win in OT = 1 Point
Loss in OT = -1 Point

Any Group Stage win in Regulation - 3 Points
Any Group Stage Loss in Regulation = 0 Points
Any Group Stage win in OT = 2 Points
Any Group Stage -Tournament Loss = -1 Points

Tournament Semis and Finals
Any Win = 3 Points
Any Loss = 0 Points

Why would a regulation loss be 0 but an OT loss -1?

I think finishing place is better than win/loss. Use like The F1 scoring system:

Champ = 25 points
2nd = 20 points
3rd = 16 points
4th = 13 points
5th = 11 points
6th = 10
7th = 9
8th = 8
9th = 7
10th = 6
11th = 5
12th = 4
13th = 3
14th = 2
15th = 1
16th-30th = 0

Getting 25 "wins" from a single tournament would encourage the hell out of teams to win this thing

[Dennis 37]

Is there a general consensus on the courts? I understand trying something new but I find it's a bit much..

I believe the league put out a directive that they must be as ugly as hell.

[WaltFrazier]

The fact that this 'tourney" takes place over like 3 weeks with a ton of regular season games in between is what makes this a complete non starter for me. If it was more contained over the course of 1-2 weeks where all the games in the tourney were played then I'd be more inclined. But trying to figure out which is which is more tedious than anything. The courts/jerseys needing to be changed so drastically just so at a glance you know it's a tourney game just proves my point more. Replace AS wekend with a sudden death tournament from like Friday to Monday and I'm in.

Also most of the courts are down right hideous. Looking at you Pacers.

Agree the cup games need to be more separate, rather than mixed among RS games. And of course cup games are regular season games too. Whereas in English soccer the Cup games may be interspersed during the season, but every fan knows, this is a Cup game, this is a league game.

IMO if they continue with the cup game, they need to adopt a "points" based standings system rather than "wins".

Something like a win in the regular season is "1 point" and then allocate points based on where you finish in the "mid season tournament". If it is 10 games long make first place worth 15 points or something. Gives more value than a regular season game and gives some real incentive to win the thing if you get 5 "Free" wins.

The regular season is not taken seriously anyways, so why do we need to act like 82-games and playoffs is purely "w/l" based is some sacred thing we can never steer away from

The regular season is only not taken seriously because it's so long. Simpler to make it 72 games, then make the tournament a totally separate thing . Outside the season standings. Take a month timeout, say December, to run it. The the RS resumes with a fresh start.

The hybrid idea of 82 games but some games count more than others seems inequitable. And would make the non tournament RS games even more of a mockery. The league mandates about playing a minimum number of games to be eligible for awards would seem to be attempting to strengthen the RS not dilute its importance

[Jtoneller1]

The fact that this 'tourney" takes place over like 3 weeks with a ton of regular season games in between is what makes this a complete non starter for me. If it was more contained over the course of 1-2 weeks where all the games in the tourney were played then I'd be more inclined. But trying to figure out which is which is more tedious than anything. The courts/jerseys needing to be changed so drastically just so at a glance you know it's a tourney game just proves my point more. Replace AS wekend with a sudden death tournament from like Friday to Monday and I'm in.

Also most of the courts are down right hideous. Looking at you Pacers.

Agree the cup games need to be more separate, rather than mixed among RS games. And of course cup games are regular season games too. Whereas in English soccer the Cup games may be interspersed during the season, but every fan knows, this is a Cup game, this is a league game.

IMO if they continue with the cup game, they need to adopt a "points" based standings system rather than "wins".

Something like a win in the regular season is "1 point" and then allocate points based on where you finish in the "mid season tournament". If it is 10 games long make first place worth 15 points or something. Gives more value than a regular season game and gives some real incentive to win the thing if you get 5 "Free" wins.

The regular season is not taken seriously anyways, so why do we need to act like 82-games and playoffs is purely "w/l" based is some sacred thing we can never steer away from

This is the way. Points accumulated during the Cup games determine HCA for the playoffs. After the play-in, the top 3 seeds from each conference pick their opponent from the bottom 4. In round 2, the top remaining seed gets to pick from the other three teams. Round 3 becomes a crossover with the other conference and the top seed gets to pick again. The Cup games now become incredibly important because they are worth more points and determine home court advantage for the playoffs. When picking your opponent, do you target a weaker team, a stronger one with an untimely injury, or do you focus on getting HCA?

Sent from my Pixel 6 using RealGM mobile app

[Tha Cynic]

The first that stands out are the courts. Yikes the contrast.

[B-Ball Freak]

I get it, the NBA wanted to change things up because the regular season was becoming stale, it's worth a shot. I have no opinion on it until the tourney is finished, not really liking the super bright courts though.

[Thaddy]

This should be stickied?

This would be a great place for Barnes to show his dominance. If Siakam can turn into a defense first, good three point shooting, and 2nd option player. I like our chances in this tournament. We are better than the Bulls, Magic, and Nets. Then we also match up well against the Celtics.

[GP2]

Our games are pretty clustered towards the end. Not ideal for Masai and Bobby's December title hopes.

[WaltFrazier]

The first that stands out are the courts. Yikes the contrast.

Easy fix. We already have, the paint. Just keep this new full court runway/center strip in whatever colour same as the painted key which is the same width. But make the outside lanes wood coloured, as Milwaukee was. (Maybe others I didn't see as well).

[WaltFrazier]

NY Post columnist goes in on the tournament, and the state of NBA play:

https://nypost.com/2023/11/09/sports/nba-game-bigger-problem-than-its-gimmicky-in-season-tourney/

With the NBA season two weeks old, the new in-season tournament has begun to the thrill, anticipation and approval of few outside of the obedient, NBA-assigned and/or purchased media.

It’s a con, an artificial additive designed to stimulate TV ratings (future cable TV and streaming revenues) while featuring senselessly diminished basketball played by the same openly unhappy multimillionaire players who gripe that they’d rather be anywhere else, including sitting out entire games in order to rest, and are indulged by pandering coaches who pretend that we can’t see or know better.

While Adam Silver & Co. are focused on reinventing the flat tire, the NBA game as an all-in, two-way, X’s and O’s spectacle has been lost to diminished appeal, boardwalk games — gimmickry.

Consider last Saturday’s 124-114 Celtics win over the Nets. A total of 97 3-point shots were taken, yet the NBA still had the gall to sell this as basketball.

Cue the old man yelling at cloud meme, but a lot of what he says rings true.

[WuTang_OG]

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[WaltFrazier]

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Stupid. Think how long ago the IST feels, how little November games have to do with these playoffs now. It's crazy to affect playoff position with results from those early season gimmicky games