Race for 8 seed in NBA is a joke.

[johanliebert]

Being a 7/8 seed is pointless. The 76ers got lucky to play an injury ridden Bulls team and take an old Celtic team to 7 games. But everyone knew even if the 76ers pulled off the upset in game 7 they were getting throttled by Miami in the conference finals. Basketball is unlike other sports. 8 seeds in hockey have won championships very recently, 6 seeds in football win championships regularly, wildcard teams in baseball have won championships recently. Basketball lacks the parity for that to be possible.

so what are you getting at? have the entire league tank outside of 4 teams?

have owners agree to cutting the revenue stream of having 16 playoff teams vs 8?

[Bankai]

I don't even know if this is true. Everyone says playoff experience is very valuable but it is one of these things say without demonstrating if it is indeed valuable. Is it valuable for Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams? Was it valuable for Anthony Davis last year?

Teams tend to take the next step and get better after getting smashed a low seed. Ask the Rockets and Thunder. Getting in the 1st time, makes you hungry for more.

Or maybe they take the next step because they get better.

You get better with experience.

[XtremeDunkz]

Being a 7/8 seed is pointless. The 76ers got lucky to play an injury ridden Bulls team and take an old Celtic team to 7 games. But everyone knew even if the 76ers pulled off the upset in game 7 they were getting throttled by Miami in the conference finals. Basketball is unlike other sports. 8 seeds in hockey have won championships very recently, 6 seeds in football win championships regularly, wildcard teams in baseball have won championships recently. Basketball lacks the parity for that to be possible.

so what are you getting at? have the entire league tank outside of 4 teams?

have owners agree to cutting the revenue stream of having 16 playoff teams vs 8?

For a better, more competitive NBA. I would have a 56 game season and 8 playoff teams. Obviously for financial reason it would never happen. But it would be a better brand of basketball for sure.

[cold_cowboy]

somebody needs to take this millennial smart ass and shoot him out back.

[realball]

This is OP:
[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4usE2RePqo[/YouTube]

[durden_tyler]

Regular season is a joke too; we already know the title contenders in Game #0 of the 82 games. So let's scrap that too.

[kvash37]

I'm confused. Why eliminate the opportunity for an upset? Upsets are what make the mens college tournament great. Wait a minute...Geno Auriemma? Is that you???

[HawaiianJazzFan]

Being a 7/8 seed is pointless. The 76ers got lucky to play an injury ridden Bulls team and take an old Celtic team to 7 games. But everyone knew even if the 76ers pulled off the upset in game 7 they were getting throttled by Miami in the conference finals. Basketball is unlike other sports. 8 seeds in hockey have won championships very recently, 6 seeds in football win championships regularly, wildcard teams in baseball have won championships recently. Basketball lacks the parity for that to be possible.

Again, what's the point in being the 3rd or 4th seed in either conference?? They get a worse draft pick than all the other teams that also aren't going win the championship. Why do they even play any regular season games, only one team wins. Why do they even play any games at all?? Only one team wins and there are 29 losers. Losers mentality, it's like being broke but also being lazy ass and buying lottery tickets to change your situation instead of working hard and constantly improve.

Well, 3rd or 4th seed have much better chances to make the finals as they are good teams. The level of talent drops drastically from 3rd seed (Thunder, 57+ wins) vs a 8th seed (Rockets, 40 wins), wouldn't you say?

they have no chance... you wanna bet that the Clippers or Thunder won't win the championship??

[batmana]

This kind of thinking makes me sick. I guess I'll have to give examples that I'm sure other fans are aware of but I still see this nonsense:

As recently as 4-5 seasons ago the Indiana Pacers were a "treadmill" team. They never drafted earlier than 10 (Paul George) if I remember correctly. However, they were able to build a nucleus of Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Lance Stephenson - all of them drafted 10th or later (through to the second round). Call them what you want but they were a legitimate threat to Miami in at least 1 year (arguably 2).

Memphis were an 8th seed in an incredibly tough Western Conference, would have had a chance for a top 4 seed in a normal conference. They eliminated the Spurs, then took the Thunder to 7. My point is that in such a strong conference, being an 8th seed is not identical to being a sub-.500 8th seed. The next several years they were a higher seed and some people considered them "weak" contenders.

I'd rather see my team try to win than tank. You guys act like the draft is an exact science. Outside of guys like Shaq, Duncan, LeBron, Anthony Davis in more recent years, what exactly are you guaranteed? Even with Anthony Davis, injuries can derail a career that could be spectacular (let's hope that's not the case). Hinkie stripping down Philly's roster in year 1 is one thing. But he then continued getting rid of any player that showed some talent (Michael Carter-Williams) for absolutely no talent in return. You say Philly was giving young guys a chance to develop but outside of Noel and Okafor, most of those young guys are D-League talent that would be fighting for 10-day contracts. Expecting to find a star out of those is ridiculous.

There is no magical formula for success. Having a superstar is the most common way but sometimes it's impossible to know who's a superstar in the draft (Curry got drafted behind Jonny Flynn, remember?). Being a good drafter is something I actually find way more consistent and reliable than tanking and hoping to land a franchise player through blind luck.

[Damkac]

What is the point? Race for the 8 seed to earn some extra revenue for the team? In the NBA, unlike EVERY other pro sports league, the low seeds have 0.0% chance to win the NBA title. So what is the point? It is what I, as a 76ers fan, endured for almost a decade. We were perennially a low playoff seed and wasted our time in the playoffs. All it did was hurt us as a franchise as our draft picks sucked. We stagnated and had no hope as a franchise.

Give me some reasons to give a damn & try to help me see why 8 seeds in the NBA isn't just a scam by the NBA to make more $? Yes, of course most of you will point out the few 1st round upsets, but when it comes down to it that didn't mean jack $&@#^ because those teams didn't win the title.

I truly wish the NBA reduced the # of playoff teams from 16 to 8.

4 on each side. It would make the regular season more meaningful and would bring the 8 teams that legitimately had a shot to win the title. Of course the chances of this happening are the same as me going on a date with Mia Khalifa tonight...Let's hear it. Convince me to give 2 ****.

So let's have few superteams with all the superstars and all the rest of the league to fight for the worst record possible?

Yeah, that would be exciting!

[winter_mute_13]

This is the difference between real basketball fans and someone who only plays 2k. Playing basketball *is* the point of the NBA. Collecting draft picks is just a sideshow.

[monopoman]

You know what would happen if every team tried to be the 76ers? We would have tanking become a true sport. I mean imagine if we had 4-5 teams all in the 10ish wins bracket right now each team would be battling it out to suck just a bit more than another team.

I could imagine some close races to get that coveted highest chance for the #1 pick.

I also do want to point out that some GM's have made a career chasing high draft picks that teams gave up on in 2-3 years before they were given a chance to show what they can do. Neil Olshey the GM of the Blazers has done great work chasing down guys that weren't given enough time to shine in the NBA or grow into their role on an NBA team, most of these guys were high draft picks like 8 or less just a few years ago.

[CrazyB0y]

why am I not surprised that a 6ers fan made that thread
and who is agreeing with him? other 6ers fans !

the Hinkie brainwashing is for real guys.
everyone wants to compete in tournaments but there is that one group of tanking-supporters that try to flip the script. I don't consider them fans, because they aren't fans of the sport, NBA nor their team. whoever is focusing on possible draft picks just 1-2 weeks into the season, because they embraced the tank, is not a fan of his team. they are a fan of player #1 and #2 from college XY.

I mean, it was Philli, an 8th seed, who upset the Bulls in 2012 (Rose injury) and NEARLY defeated the big-3 Celtics, who nearly defeated the big-3 Heat. a coin flip here and there and the #8 seed 6ers are in the eastern finals, playing a similar style (defensive minded) like the Celtics. another cound flip here and there and they may go to the finals. if thats not exciting to a fan, then I don't know.

thankfully, having a quitters mentality is exclusive to "special" fans, which are rare.

[TheCustodian]

Regular season is a joke too; we already know the title contenders in Game #0 of the 82 games. So let's scrap that too.

Nah, to hell with these weak ass half measures. You know what else is a joke? Life. Talk about the ultimate treadmill...
There's no winning, only death for everyone. That's just basic statistics, people.
Hence everyone who becomes old enough to know of this inevitability should just commit honorable sudoku. If they're rich, maybe get yourself frozen in case medicine gets to immortality at some point in the future. But even then, what's the point, just keep on that treadmill until the universe collapses into itself?

[Freefloater]

this years 8th seed is gonna upset the best team of all times

[Prokorov]

What is the point? Race for the 8 seed to earn some extra revenue for the team? In the NBA, unlike EVERY other pro sports league, the low seeds have 0.0% chance to win the NBA title. So what is the point? It is what I, as a 76ers fan, endured for almost a decade. We were perennially a low playoff seed and wasted our time in the playoffs. All it did was hurt us as a franchise as our draft picks sucked. We stagnated and had no hope as a franchise.

Give me some reasons to give a damn & try to help me see why 8 seeds in the NBA isn't just a scam by the NBA to make more $? Yes, of course most of you will point out the few 1st round upsets, but when it comes down to it that didn't mean jack $&@#^ because those teams didn't win the title.

I truly wish the NBA reduced the # of playoff teams from 16 to 8.

4 on each side. It would make the regular season more meaningful and would bring the 8 teams that legitimately had a shot to win the title. Of course the chances of this happening are the same as me going on a date with Mia Khalifa tonight...Let's hear it. Convince me to give 2 ****.

not every fan is a millennial, ADHD, you either win it all or you suck, fair weather fan.

some fans dont need their team to be title contenders to keep interest. alot of fans want to see their team in the playoffs. want to see them do as well as they can even if it isnt a title.

why reduce it to 8 playoff teams? why not reduce it to 2? why not just contract 30 teams and have 2 dream teams play a 1 game winner take all for the championship?

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

The biggest problem with the NBA is the games. If they just got rid of those, the league would be much more entertaining.

[Kolkmania]

This kind of thinking makes me sick. I guess I'll have to give examples that I'm sure other fans are aware of but I still see this nonsense:

As recently as 4-5 seasons ago the Indiana Pacers were a "treadmill" team. They never drafted earlier than 10 (Paul George) if I remember correctly. However, they were able to build a nucleus of Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Lance Stephenson - all of them drafted 10th or later (through to the second round). Call them what you want but they were a legitimate threat to Miami in at least 1 year (arguably 2).

Memphis were an 8th seed in an incredibly tough Western Conference, would have had a chance for a top 4 seed in a normal conference. They eliminated the Spurs, then took the Thunder to 7. My point is that in such a strong conference, being an 8th seed is not identical to being a sub-.500 8th seed. The next several years they were a higher seed and some people considered them "weak" contenders.

I'd rather see my team try to win than tank. You guys act like the draft is an exact science. Outside of guys like Shaq, Duncan, LeBron, Anthony Davis in more recent years, what exactly are you guaranteed? Even with Anthony Davis, injuries can derail a career that could be spectacular (let's hope that's not the case). Hinkie stripping down Philly's roster in year 1 is one thing. But he then continued getting rid of any player that showed some talent (Michael Carter-Williams) for absolutely no talent in return. You say Philly was giving young guys a chance to develop but outside of Noel and Okafor, most of those young guys are D-League talent that would be fighting for 10-day contracts. Expecting to find a star out of those is ridiculous.

There is no magical formula for success. Having a superstar is the most common way but sometimes it's impossible to know who's a superstar in the draft (Curry got drafted behind Jonny Flynn, remember?). Being a good drafter is something I actually find way more consistent and reliable than tanking and hoping to land a franchise player through blind luck.

I agree with most of your story.

"Being a good drafter is something I actually find way more consistent and reliable than tanking and hoping to land a franchise player through blind luck."

Sure, but what if you're a good drafter and you have a high draft pick, that's even more beneficial for the chances of drafting a superstar right? That was the whole point of tearing down the roster, maximizing the possibility of signing a superstar. Turning MCW in a potential #4 pick in this (or imagine 2017) draft is increasing the odds, Bucks fans will confirm.

Chasing 8th seed can be fun and satisfying if it results in a nice matchup against the #1 seed. Watching young players working their but off and developing is also entertaining. Matter of personal preference.

[RLPH]

guy's just frustrated with the sixers

hopefully they'll turn things around with Colangelo family

[michaelm]

Being a 7/8 seed is pointless. The 76ers got lucky to play an injury ridden Bulls team and take an old Celtic team to 7 games. But everyone knew even if the 76ers pulled off the upset in game 7 they were getting throttled by Miami in the conference finals. Basketball is unlike other sports. 8 seeds in hockey have won championships very recently, 6 seeds in football win championships regularly, wildcard teams in baseball have won championships recently. Basketball lacks the parity for that to be possible.

so what are you getting at? have the entire league tank outside of 4 teams?

have owners agree to cutting the revenue stream of having 16 playoff teams vs 8?

For a better, more competitive NBA. I would have a 56 game season and 8 playoff teams. Obviously for financial reason it would never happen. But it would be a better brand of basketball for sure.

As a non-American and not a lifelong follower of the NBA, I think they could do with less regular season games, which will not happen as you say.

It is going to take rather longer for non-contending teams to become contending teams, if they do at all, if the only step is from being a 20 win team to being a finalist though. It was unusual for GSW to win the title last year at their first attempt, but however good GSW may or may not be I don't think they win that title without having play-off experience the previous 2 years, even though they were the 6th seed in both those years iirc.