NBA In-Season Tournament

[Dick Tate]

So if the Bucks make the final game you won't watch because it's the one game of the whole thing that doesn't count for the regular season record?

I'd watch to see how the team treats it but wouldn't care if they lost.

You won't feel that way if we made the final and you watched the other team lift a trophy.

The last trophy presentation I watched was the Bucks winning the Championship. The one before that was the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl.
I just wish instead of a trophy handout for this, they had each player on the winning team walk up to the podium to grab their stack of cash.

[Finn]

I'm glad this thing that means nothing seemingly brings so many of you joy. Good for y'all. If a star is injured because of this dumb tournament it'll be gone and no one will miss it.

This complaint I don't understand. If the game wasn't part of the in-season tourney, it would have been a regular season game, right? Other than the championship game, I'm not sure what you're saying. Plenty of injuries happen in regular season games.

Or are you saying the courts themselves are an issue (i.e., slippery/dangerous)? I'm not aware of any league-wide issues.

[skones]

The tournament is the "Don't ask questions. Just consume content/product" meme in NBA form. I won't tell anybody that they can't enjoy it for what it is, but please spare me the existential "what even is a trophy, man?" stuff lol.

Friendly reminder that we are people who root for strangers who make millions of dollars playing a game on TV. Do you know how stupid that sounds? The NBA is a made up league, around a made up game, with a made up trophy at the end for validation. At a base level, HOW is that any different from a made up tournament, with a made up trophy at the end for validation? The only difference is the amount of time it's existed. Nobody cared all that much about the first NBA championship or the Super Bowl either.

The general global population looks at the Larry O'Brien trophy and doesn't give a rat's ass about it, but that's the one that "MATTERS" because it matters specifically to you as a fan. What's the difference? Your personal perception of it? Seems weird to walk that line. If you don't like it, don't watch if we're in the Championship.

[Ron Swanson]

please spare me the existential "what even is a trophy, man?" stuff

[ReasonablySober]

please spare me the existential "what even is a trophy, man?" stuff

So stupid.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

I'm glad this thing that means nothing seemingly brings so many of you joy. Good for y'all. If a star is injured because of this dumb tournament it'll be gone and no one will miss it.

Honestly, I don't know if there is a star that would really hurt the NBA at this point. Maybe Lebron a few years ago, but honestly it would be next man up. I don't think KD being injured for a season did any damage to ratings. If Giannis went down, it would suck for us but the NBA will just spend the time marketing SGA, Luka, or someone else.

Like I would get your point if it's April and Giannis got injured (Still hurts), there would be a "what if" factor for that playoffs. But if a guy gets injured in December......meh, the NBA has 4 months to build up another guy to market it in the playoffs.

Just curious how many games you go to? As a STH, it is just brutal shelling out money and dragging your ass to the fiserv when its snowing only to find out guys are load managing. "Only playoffs matter" rings hallow to me when I'm that invested both emotionally and financially in the regular season.

[jschligs]

The only way I’d be mad about an injury is if it came in garbage time where we were trying to run up the score for points differential, or the games that don’t count towards final standing (I’m assuming semis and later don’t).

[PhoenixMilwauke]

More people are watching the tourney games than regular season games. The poll here is decidedly positive. You can't please everyone after all. It's not going to go away...if anything, it will only get bigger over the years.

I'm enjoying it... if you are not, not sure I understand the issue since the same game also counts as a regular season game. But, that's your choice. Someone else not enjoying it doesn't make it any less fun for me.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

The only way I’d be mad about an injury is if it came in garbage time where we were trying to run up the score for points differential, or the games that don’t count towards final standing (I’m assuming semis and later don’t).

Only thing I don't like is that there are playing a game that doesn't count.

[emunney]

The tournament is the "Don't ask questions. Just consume content/product" meme in NBA form. I won't tell anybody that they can't enjoy it for what it is, but please spare me the existential "what even is a trophy, man?" stuff lol.

It's semiotic. Every part of culture is 'made up', which is why complaining about that part of it is laughable. (digression: It's like when people complain what is or isn't a word. If somebody's using a series of sounds to communicate something and it's working, then what exactly is it if not a word? Being in the OED doesn't *give* something meaning. It's just record-keeping. *This is not a settled matter among linguists, possibly the most impossible group of people to ever use words*.)

The point is that people are the meaning-makers. We know there isn't equivalent meaning behind winning this trophy and a LOB trophy. The appropriate comparison isn't IST vs. LOB. It's IST vs. unlabeled November game.

From a more tangible perspective, the championship payout on a per player basis is about what they get from the Player Playoff Pool for reaching the 2nd round.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I'm glad this thing that means nothing seemingly brings so many of you joy. Good for y'all. If a star is injured because of this dumb tournament it'll be gone and no one will miss it.

Honestly, I don't know if there is a star that would really hurt the NBA at this point. Maybe Lebron a few years ago, but honestly it would be next man up. I don't think KD being injured for a season did any damage to ratings. If Giannis went down, it would suck for us but the NBA will just spend the time marketing SGA, Luka, or someone else.

Like I would get your point if it's April and Giannis got injured (Still hurts), there would be a "what if" factor for that playoffs. But if a guy gets injured in December......meh, the NBA has 4 months to build up another guy to market it in the playoffs.

Just curious how many games you go to? As a STH, it is just brutal shelling out money and dragging your ass to the fiserv when its snowing only to find out guys are load managing. "Only playoffs matter" rings hallow to me when I'm that invested both emotionally and financially in the regular season.

Not to totally detrail this discussion but you got me thinking. Is the current NBA the least dependent it's ever been on one or two star players? The MO for decades was one of two super stars as real faces of the league but it feels like it's way more spread out no days with a high number of stars with about equal importance to the league. It's definitely a testament to the high level of talent that's come in the past decade. The league has a long ways to go but it's also improved on marketing it's whoe product vs just a couple teams/players.

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[Prez]

I didn’t care too much about the IST originally and didn’t think the players would either, but I’ve changed my tune on it. I think it’s kinda cool that the league is trying to do something, anything at all to try to make these boring ass November games feel a bit more important. Frankly I think this aggressive need to rip in the IST is lamer than the IST itself.

[JayMKE]

Its pointless, the way the NBA is doing it is weird and cringe right down to awkward name, I hate the jerseys and especially the weird ass courts. Incorporating divisions into the groups might have given more relevance to it and also the regular season so that seems like a swing & a miss by the NBA. The way its scheduled and when makes it confusing and less interesting, point differential is dumb. Only thing I like about it is that there seems to be pressure on teams to take it seriously and not rest guys.

[paulpressey25]

Will tell you my opinion after the Heat game tonight.

[FrieAaron]

Like it. At the very least it will create a week in December that should be full of pretty good matchups and I think once it gets to Vegas even moreso than the group games pride will kick in and we'll start getting some playoff-type games. I think they could maybe lengthen it a bit to have it closer to the ASB but as a first try it's worked out pretty well I think. I do think there should be some sort of meaningful reward aside from the money for the finals, though. I've mentioned it before but even something like the winner getting a first tiebreaker over any other team would be cool.

[0BobLobLaw0]

I'm pretty indifferent to it...Ways to this in season tournament more meaningful:

1. Groups don't have to be tied to conferences.

2. Games don't count for regular season record, so you reduce the regular season, but still have the same amount of games. Making the regular season games actually count more, and not losing revenue.

3. Winning team gets money and the 1st pick right outside of the lottery.

4. Move it to later in the season. All star game weekend has the championship game (Friday night) at that city, and then still play the all star game Sunday night.

[ReasonablySober]

Giving the teams that make the final game draft picks was a layup. You couldn't call it meaningless with draft picks on the line. It'd give fans a reason to be invested. Hopefully we see that if the tournament returns.

[DutchManDanFan]

My understanding is this is a like an European or English soccer idea, right? As a non-soccer guy, is this (in-season tourney) a big deal in those leagues? Especially with the fans?

In European football but also a lot of other sports there's a cup competition besides the normal competition. The cup competition is also open for lower level teams, even amateur level. The price besides winning the cup often is playing in a European competition the following year, which is a big deal for a lot of clubs.
In European sport leagues the big clubs always win the regular competition. Like Bayern in Germany and Barcelona or Real in Spain (Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV in Holland). In Italy and England there are more big clubs, so more different teams capable of winning the league. Winning the cup is for much more teams possible, so that's why it's a big deal in Europe. It can also be a consolation price for a big club if they don't win the regular competion.
In England the FA-cup has a long tradition. So winning that cup is also a big deal because of this.

[Badgerlander]

My understanding is this is a like an European or English soccer idea, right? As a non-soccer guy, is this (in-season tourney) a big deal in those leagues? Especially with the fans?

Depends on the tourney. But having bragging rights to trophies is something fans jaw about all the time. Champions League (European wide club tourney), Europa, Conference League are all pretty big. But things like Carabao Cup (England only tourney) usually get B/C squads for the bigger clubs.

Have no idea what any of this is. Would I care more about the nba tourney if I knew what this stuff was? I did enjoy Ted Lasso, does that count?

[Thunder Muscle]

I'm pretty indifferent to it...Ways to this in season tournament more meaningful:

1. Groups don't have to be tied to conferences.

2. Games don't count for regular season record, so you reduce the regular season, but still have the same amount of games. Making the regular season games actually count more, and not losing revenue.

3. Winning team gets money and the 1st pick right outside of the lottery.

4. Move it to later in the season. All star game weekend has the championship game (Friday night) at that city, and then still play the all star game Sunday night.

I do wish the conferences/group play would be mix and matched. Sure schedule logistics made that tougher but be cool to have a less segmented group play.

1st pick of 2nd round wouldnt be a radical additional prize either. Kind of like a comp pick.

I actually like the early season as gives these early games some kick. By time February rolls around at least start to see playoff at end of tunnel, trade deadline is done, etc.