NBA officially confirms In-Season Tournament

[Dennis 37]

the prize should be the cash, and an auto entry into the draft lottery, with a % boost increase to your odds at a higher pick

I came in here to see if any one proposed this.
Winning some additional lottery odds makes this tourney worthwhile IMO. Otherwise who cares?

This may be a way to further decentivize tanking. I think there is potential here to make it very compelling.

Players will not play hard hoping to win their replacement. Aging team wins a place in lottery. Team drafts upcoming star and jettisons aging players to build around young star.

[Mikistan]

And you can still watch hoping your team wins a championship, this doesn't change anything. The tournament games are part of the regular season games, its the same games.

Sure, so it's just like another regular season game then.

And if it's the same games, why the need to add monetary incentive for players? Don't they already do their best in RS games? Are guys going to play hurt in these games?

The FA Cup games are additional games. They are a traditional that players and supporters care about. It's a long tradition, with the extra excitement of lower division teams going for upsets. This NBA thing will have none of the tradition or excitement. It will mean nothing. Totally artificial.

tradition meant nothing in year one in those examples also

[Dennis 37]

I think it’s well thought out. I like how it doesn’t disturb the regular season and only adds an extra game to the finals teams. Single elimination tournaments are exciting.

I don’t know why people are so opposed to something like this. It adds a little excitement to the long boring regular season grind by making some of these games important.

The season is not long and boring. It is no different than when we sat through those losing seasons in the oughts. Every game is a chance to see development, to see chemistry building, to see experimentation.

[Dennis 37]

Sure, so it's just like another regular season game then.

And if it's the same games, why the need to add monetary incentive for players? Don't they already do their best in RS games? Are guys going to play hurt in these games?

The FA Cup games are additional games. They are a traditional that players and supporters care about. It's a long tradition, with the extra excitement of lower division teams going for upsets. This NBA thing will have none of the tradition or excitement. It will mean nothing. Totally artificial.

tradition meant nothing in year one in those examples also

I side with the inclusion of teams from different leagues as a better argument than tradition.

This cup offers nothing new, that would get me watching two non Raptors teams play in cup game that means nothing in the standings.

[Mikistan]

And if it's the same games, why the need to add monetary incentive for players? Don't they already do their best in RS games? Are guys going to play hurt in these games?

The FA Cup games are additional games. They are a traditional that players and supporters care about. It's a long tradition, with the extra excitement of lower division teams going for upsets. This NBA thing will have none of the tradition or excitement. It will mean nothing. Totally artificial.

tradition meant nothing in year one in those examples also

I side with the inclusion of teams from different leagues as a better argument than tradition.

This cup offers nothing new, that would get me watching two non Raptors teams play in cup game that means nothing in the standings.

I agree it's not totally novel, but that's the barrier to change in general. If they add new games people complain regular season is too long anyway. If they remove some for this, people call it a dumb money grab and argue against the perceived sanctity of comparability in stats over 82 games compared to now less.

I think it's a fun idea, like the championship belt idea where in the RS the champion starts with the belt and in their first loss the winning team takes the belt and it bounces around the league on regular season losses. Doesn't mean much, but it's fun, and you better believe fans and players will brag if they win this thing.

Also the financial incentive may not be a lot for the stars but they mean something for end of bench guys and real teams should come together to help those guys and try. And on the spirit of competition, this slight increase in worth should mean guys who naturally want to win will want to win even more.

I totally like the idea of other leagues being included on this cup for extra bragging rights but the injury concerns will make conservative nbaers not like that as the playoffs has been built as this be-all end-all of basketball pantheon relevance

[billy_hoyle]

the prize should be the cash, and an auto entry into the draft lottery, with a % boost increase to your odds at a higher pick

I came in here to see if any one proposed this.
Winning some additional lottery odds makes this tourney worthwhile IMO. Otherwise who cares?

This may be a way to further decentivize tanking. I think there is potential here to make it very compelling.

Players will not play hard hoping to win their replacement. Aging team wins a place in lottery. Team drafts upcoming star and jettisons aging players to build around young star.

Those players are coming into the league anyway. Players want to play on good teams, some also want to load manage as they get older.

Money for the players, odds for the fans, it's the best they can do.

[YogurtProducer]

East final 4: Celtics Cavs Bucks Heat

West final 4: Lakers Mavs Kings Nuggets

NBA Cup Finals: Mavs vs Celtics

NBA Cup champions: Boston Celtics

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

Why watch any NBA game the Raptors don't play in with this logic?

[Potential]

East final 4: Celtics Cavs Bucks Heat

West final 4: Lakers Mavs Kings Nuggets

NBA Cup Finals: Mavs vs Celtics

NBA Cup champions: Boston Celtics

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

[WaltFrazier]

East final 4: Celtics Cavs Bucks Heat

West final 4: Lakers Mavs Kings Nuggets

NBA Cup Finals: Mavs vs Celtics

NBA Cup champions: Boston Celtics

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

If you watch games anyway then you'll keep watching. For those that don't, the playoffs are a draw that I'm sure makes Raptors fans watch other teams' games. The heightened intensity, the stakes, make playoffs special to watch. These in season tournament games will have none of the incentives to watch other teams that the playoffs have.

[Scase]

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

If you watch games anyway then you'll keep watching. For those that don't, the playoffs are a draw that I'm sure makes Raptors fans watch other teams' games. The heightened intensity, the stakes, make playoffs special to watch. These in season tournament games will have none of the incentives to watch other teams that the playoffs have.

With some of the takes I see here and online in general, I have extreme doubts that most raptor fans have ever seen a non raps game lol

[720]

50 years from now these mid season cups will mean something. Franchises and fans will value them.

[Dennis 37]

East final 4: Celtics Cavs Bucks Heat

West final 4: Lakers Mavs Kings Nuggets

NBA Cup Finals: Mavs vs Celtics

NBA Cup champions: Boston Celtics

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

Why watch any NBA game the Raptors don't play in with this logic?

Exactly. Unless it is later in the season and the results of other games affects the Raptors' playoff spot, I have no interest. Why would I?

[Dennis 37]

East final 4: Celtics Cavs Bucks Heat

West final 4: Lakers Mavs Kings Nuggets

NBA Cup Finals: Mavs vs Celtics

NBA Cup champions: Boston Celtics

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

Does this not prove that the season is not boring, that not only will many watch every single home team game, but will watch other games having no emotional attachment?

And therefore a mid season tournament is not necessary?

[Spates]

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

Does this not prove that the season is not boring, that not only will many watch every single home team game, but will watch other games having no emotional attachment?

And therefore a mid season tournament is not necessary?

This tournament is awfully contingent. Regular season can be boring because of a lack of effort, plain and simple. The formula needs to change.

[Potential]

And as Raptors fans we would watch any of this why?

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

Does this not prove that the season is not boring, that not only will many watch every single home team game, but will watch other games having no emotional attachment?

And therefore a mid season tournament is not necessary?

I'm personally looking forward to it tbh the twitter timeline is going to be generational and hilarious during this tournament

[MadDesperado]

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

Does this not prove that the season is not boring, that not only will many watch every single home team game, but will watch other games having no emotional attachment?

And therefore a mid season tournament is not necessary?

This tournament is awfully contingent. Regular season can be boring because of a lack of effort, plain and simple. The formula needs to change.

There's just too many games, they should cut it down to like 54 and double down on figuring out a way to make a successful tournament. It could be a group stage and a Bo3 series or something, with draft/compensation incentives to create a pseudo playoff atmosphere where teams actually try to compete. They could even host it at different locations each year to create a bubble like atmosphere with fans. Especially if they are planning on expanding, they could host it in Mexico City, Kansas City, Montreal, etc.

Space the mid season tournament, all star game and playoffs as buffers to compensate for less games:

First half of the season -> Mid season Tournament -> All Star Game -> 2nd half -> Playoffs

Nobody wants to watch trash teams for 82 games, but teams like that could probably put together a run of games if they really tried and make for an exciting first half + tourney before regressing. Could make for some lightning in a bottle type narratives. You would also probably get more effort out of players since they would have a rest period factored in and would only need to try hard for like ~25 games at a time

[Dennis 37]

I always watch non raptors regular season ball

Does this not prove that the season is not boring, that not only will many watch every single home team game, but will watch other games having no emotional attachment?

And therefore a mid season tournament is not necessary?

This tournament is awfully contingent. Regular season can be boring because of a lack of effort, plain and simple. The formula needs to change.

Before this past season, in which I believe Nurse either lost the locker room, or he had anticipated his departure, I don't recall lack of effort being a problem for any Raptors team.

[6ixpessant]

If this replaced the All-Star Game stupidity, it might make a bit of sense.

[OakleyDokely]

Even in European soccer cup tournaments that have tradition and mean something, not every team approaches these competitions the same way. Man City won't treat a certain competition the same as Everton. In league cups, a lot of the big teams won't play their best lineups until closer to the end whereas many of the smaller clubs are playing very hard from the start.

If teams like the Thunder and Kings take this competition more seriously than the Warriors or Lakers, that's fine. It gives the midfield teams something to play for because in any given season there might be only a handful of teams that have a realistic shot at a title. But once this tournament goes to Vegas, I'm pretty convinced even the big teams will take the games seriously and over time, it will develop a certain level of prestige. It will never reach the status of the NBA championship, but it's not supposed to compete with that, the goal is to just make the regular season a little more exciting and meaningful.

[WuTang_OG]

The 82 game schedule is archaic

I like the idea overall as it brings some freshness to the season

I would have preferred they mixed up the groups East/West but im guessing they looked into that and the schedule makers couldnt accommodate