Dennis 37 wrote:Mikistan wrote:WaltFrazier wrote: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