Cancel the in season tournament

[Sofia]

True Hoopers like Silver know more then you Nephew.

Adam Silver couldn’t score a layup in an empty gym. He probably couldn’t name every team in the league if you gave him 10 minutes. He’s an Ivy League educated lawyer. A suit. He’s taken a league that peaked in the 80’s and 90’s and turned it into a carnival freak show.

What does that say about you that you still watch it and pay close enough attention to be frequenting discussion boards? Nothing else happening in your life?

[JasonStern]

Said it before, but the in-season tournament should lock a playoff seat. Not a #1 seed or anything like that, but a guaranteed playoff berth. Players actually playing for something more than $5k and a Hyundai.

[Calvin Klein]

the IST tournament does not translate to the playoffs and it shouldn't. That's the point of it. To give lesser teams the chance to compete for something.


I still think it's a stupid tournament though.

[Calvin Klein]

Said it before, but the in-season tournament should lock a playoff seat. Not a #1 seed or anything like that, but a guaranteed playoff berth. Players actually playing for something more than $5k and a Hyundai.

Well then the Lakers would have rested everybody for the whole season until the playoffs.

[LaLover11]

the IST tournament does not translate to the playoffs and it shouldn't. That's the point of it. To give lesser teams the chance to compete for something.


I still think it's a stupid tournament though.

Exactly.... A lesser team would love to have a guaranteed 8th seed in thier conference to have a upset chance to make the Finals vs Money or a fake trophy

[aj174]

Honestly though, there aren't any extra games played cause of the IST so who cares? They're just formatting it in a different way and the players get extra cash

Play in has been successful, my only criticism is that there should be a cut off of games between seeds to actually be in the play in game. They did it for the bubble, where teams had to be certain games within each other, but now, a team like the hawks who were like 10 games under 500, are in the tournament against over 500 teams. But then again, it incentivizes winning so it's not that bad

[JujitsuFlip]

What is the in season tournament?

[LaLover11]

Said it before, but the in-season tournament should lock a playoff seat. Not a #1 seed or anything like that, but a guaranteed playoff berth. Players actually playing for something more than $5k and a Hyundai.

Well then the Lakers would have rested everybody for the whole season until the playoffs.

Lakers are not going to win it every season c'mon man
It still gives the Stars a better chance to be healthy for the Playoffs aka better ratings and a better series

Look at Butler/Giannis

[Calvin Klein]

Said it before, but the in-season tournament should lock a playoff seat. Not a #1 seed or anything like that, but a guaranteed playoff berth. Players actually playing for something more than $5k and a Hyundai.

Well then the Lakers would have rested everybody for the whole season until the playoffs.

Lakers are not going to win it every season c'mon man
It still gives the Stars a better chance to be healthy for the Playoffs aka better ratings and a better series

Look at Butler/Giannis

Injuries happen. Pretending everybody to be healthy in the playoffs is unrealistic. It's always been the same.

[WentzerWuver]

They need to tweak the IST. It needs to probably replace the ISG. Also needs to actually give some sort of benefit to the winner and runner-up. Maybe they'll figure something out.

Agreed the winner are guaranteed the 9th play in spot for an elimination game at home while runner-up lock in the 10th spot for a road game. And if either team has better records, they will he slotted accordingly to the higher seeding.

So the Lakers and Pacers would keep their current seeding this season, for example. And if the Spurs had won it, they would be in the play-in for their efforts early on. This would obviously motivate bad teams more than contenders along with the shiny hardware. Plus who wouldn't prefer having the next Lebron in Wemby over any player on the Kings roster in an elimination game.

[dhsilv2]

If they'd just leave us with normal courts so we can WATCH the games. Who cares...as long as it's teams like the lakers who never had a real shot this year wasting energy, whatever. Nobody is going to ever care or talk it up. If a few people find it fun to watch a few of the games, so what?

Now the play in is awful.

[daschysta]

It continues to be bizarre that people have such a hard time grasping the concept of a cup tournament most sports have them. The best of the best will try to win all available trophies and it gives more teams something to play for and win. Teams will want to do the double, and the effort and intensity was notably higher than in typical regular season games, what's not to love? I know I'd rather watch it than anonymous games in December.

[shi-woo]

Giving teams that typically would never sniff a national televised game is actually pretty cool. It gives players a chance to show out and reach a fanbase they typically wouldn't. Guys play harder than a typical regular season game, which is a win.

So what exactly was the down side of it, especially in it's first year of conception? The NBA is only going to continue modifying it, tweeking it, and making it more interesting for the players and the fans.

I wouldn't be surprised if they just ended up scrapping the All-Star weekend in a couple of years, really emphasize the IST, and have a Final 4 type environment where dudes from other teams are the half time entertainment doing dunk comps, 3pnt shoot outs, ect ect.

That would honestly be so much better than the trash we have now which is geared towards 5 year olds. This year was just the start

[Hair Jordan]

Lame. Adam Silver is constantly trying to fix something that isn’t broken. If you need more and more gimmicks like the IST to watch the NBA then you were a casual all along. That’s the problem, Silver is more concerned about marketing towards a demographic (casuals) that don’t really care about the sport. Changing the design of the MVP award, DPOTY award etc, the IST, conference championship MVP awards, allowing teams to have 15 different jerseys, legislating traveling/carrying/palming out of the game. David Stern is rolling over in his grave.

[chilluminati]

Everyone pretty much hit the high points already. It adds more weight to those games and generally makes them more enjoyable. It'll be more enjoyable to the players though if they get to play for something more than just money. Seeding or home court advantage is the basic idea.

To me, it's a show of which team is the best when they're fresh. Since this tournament happens so early in the season, guys are fresh and there are less injuries to worry about muddying expectations much like how the playoffs always are. It just makes complete sense that either LA or GSW are the kings of this. Older squads tire out faster and generally are fully healthy at the beginning of a season and are totally banged up by the time the playoffs roll around.

For the fans? It's great. For the players? They get money but they also want it to have more meaning. In the end? It's making the league more money and that's the ultimate goal for them.

[MrGoat]

The IST and the play-in both fail in their stated purpose of bringing significance to the regular season. They're lousy cash grabs but they'll remain because the NBA makes $$$ off them.

The play in is fine, adds some extra drama for the lower seeds and single game elimination games are fun. The IST is kind of a joke, though. There needs to be some sort of playoff advantage tied to it to raise the stakes at the very least

[dhsilv2]

It continues to be bizarre that people have such a hard time grasping the concept of a cup tournament most sports have them. The best of the best will try to win all available trophies and it gives more teams something to play for and win. Teams will want to do the double, and the effort and intensity was notably higher than in typical regular season games, what's not to love? I know I'd rather watch it than anonymous games in December.

If we remove europe and individual sports...do they? Also...cup? Cups are for drinking water and beer out of!

Having two awards in a season is just stupid. And it'll be seen as stupid as long as it's stupid. Even if EVERY sport does it.

[ConSarnit]

The IST and the play-in both fail in their stated purpose of bringing significance to the regular season. They're lousy cash grabs but they'll remain because the NBA makes $$$ off them.

Play-in makes some sense. In theory it would allow a good team hit hard by injuries early in the season to still make the playoffs. At some point that should pay dividends in providing for better 1st round series.

The IST is just a pure cash grab and the court designs destroyed my rods and cones.

[brutalitops]

True Hoopers like Silver know more then you Nephew.

Adam Silver couldn’t score a layup in an empty gym. He probably couldn’t name every team in the league if you gave him 10 minutes. He’s an Ivy League educated lawyer. A suit. He’s taken a league that peaked in the 80’s and 90’s and turned it into a carnival freak show.

Nephew take.
190cm. Long arms, Dudes a hooper

Saying he's an Ivy League educated lawyer and couldnt name 30 teams, Nephew take

"Peaked in the 80's" yet the league is now the most popular it's ever been, Because hoopers know what hoopers want. Dont hate son. Plus, he was a part of the NBA from the early 90's, My boy has been grinding behind the scenes, putting up the reps. True hoopers understand, Nephews hate.

[nate33]

The IST is kinda silly, but also harmless. I see no reason to cancel it unless the players decide they don't care about it and it starts looking like the All-Star game.

The play-in is awesome in that it has added several inflection points that motivate teams to improve their record. It has virtually eliminated any "coasting" down the stretch of the regular season - except maybe for the top 1-3 seeds.