Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is one of the best players in the NBA in only his third season in the league. Naturally, this also means he's one of the most vocal.
For example, here's what Luka had to say about this season's 7-10 seed play-in tournament for the playoffs:
Nice comment by Luka Doncic when asked about if he pays attention to the standings with under 20 games left. He said he doesn't understand the point of playing 72 games to make the playoffs, then how a team could be out if it loses two games in the play-in. Not a bad commentary.
— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) April 13, 2021
Spicy. Incendiary. Even better, everyone gets to have an opinion, right? That's what makes an opinion.
Except he's way wrong. Here's why:
1. It accounts for the lack of games
This year's NBA season was wildly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as with every other professional and amateur sport. They were forced to delay their return two months, and that was following another break in the norm with a postseason that was similarly delayed. The NBA needed to get back to its regular schedule.
But playing the regular 82 game schedule with such a condensed time period would have forced either punishing back-to-backs on a league that is already brutal for travel and length, or extended the season again. Either would have set very dangerous precedents for the league, with multi-year implications. With this solution, the NBA is able to condense the necessary amount of games played and get back on their regular schedule, while still making sure that the games that really matter are still addressed at the end of the season.
How does that make sense? Well…
2. The lower seeds fairly prove their playoff berth
At the end of each NBA season, there is always a last-minute push by teams to get into the playoffs. Regardless of the season, the coming of spring always means an absolute dogpile of lower-seeded teams trying to punch their tickets to the postseason. Between the 7th to 10th seeds teams are separated by hairs. Take this season for example. The 7th seeded Mavericks are comfortably in the playoffs but are only 2.5 games ahead of the 10th seeded Golden State Warriors.
In a vacuum, the Bulls, who just acquired Nikola Vucevic to make the playoffs, deserve a legit shot. Ditto for the Warriors, who have refused to tank despite significant injuries to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson (out for the season).
In previous NBA seasons, this all-important positioning would almost be at the mercy of whichever team's schedule favored them. For example, if a team under normal circumstances had a shot at the 8th seed, but had to face a bunch of juggernauts to end the season, no way they would overtake the current 8th seed, who only had to play bottom feeders in the home stretch.
This way, there are more teams that have a shot to make the playoffs that actually want to, and get to compete directly with the other hopefuls. If you got the 7th seed, that's great! But in an 82 game season, you'd still have to prove you belong by playing the 10 remaining games after 72. This is just a different (and arguably more fair) format.
3. It finally generates interest in lower-seeded teams
To be honest, who really gave a damn about the Phoenix Suns last season until the NBA bubble? They didn't even make the playoffs!
But because the Suns were invited to the bubble and were given a shot to make the playoffs, they mattered. TV anchors started paying attention to the Suns. Devin Booker wasn't just a highlight machine anymore, he was a legitimately dangerous clutch player. Suns brass got enough national feedback on their team to go all in and opt to get Chris Paul.
We wouldn't be enjoying this year's version of the Phoenix Suns if it wasn't for last summer's unique format in the bubble.
With this tournament, not only are teams getting national attention when they normally wouldn't, they are given something that they would never have otherwise: hope.
Now, of course, if Luka Doncic is saying that this new format is bad for the Mavs, that is perfectly reasonable. But for the NBA, and for teams that are desperate for some kind of hope, this new format truly is a godsend. Even teams that feel bitter about it like the Mavs should take comfort in knowing that this is a more efficient way to determine low seeding without subjecting teams to additional back-to-back evenings.
It just means that the Dallas Mavericks will have to prove that they've truly earned that 7th seed. If they want to avoid that test, they can prove it by moving up to 6th in the West. As the old saying goes, “ball don't lie”.
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