The NBA has included the play-in tournament dating back to last year's bubble. The league decided to bring back the idea for this season and the debate is on regarding whether it's good or bad.
Of course, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic shared his thoughts on the idea of the play-in tournament, which sparked much conversation around the world of social media and the league itself.
Luka Doncic, whose Mavs are 7th in the West: "I don't understand the idea of the play-in [tournament]. You play 72 games to get in the playoffs, then maybe you lose two in a row and you're out of the playoffs. I don't see the point of that."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 13, 2021
Well, Luka doesn't like the idea of the play-in tournament, and he's not the only one. Mavs owner Mark Cuban had his thoughts too, although he clarified his comments on that end, saying it's just this year he's not a fan of.
So, here are a few reasons why the play-in tournament is a terrible idea.
3. Play-In Tournament Risks Injury
To be honest, why even bother with extra games at this point? With the absurd rash of injuries that have taken place this season, it seems rather dangerous and risky for the NBA to add games to the schedule for seemingly no reason.
The league already caught a bunch of heat by electing to hold the All-Star Game in the midst of a pandemic, and the fact that both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons missed the game due to contact tracing definitely didn't help the NBA's argument.
Of course, any player can get injured any day, so maybe this isn't the best argument. Still, it's a valid concern and something the league can eliminate by cutting out the play-in tournament.
2. It Presents Unnecessary Travel
What a difference a year makes, right? Last year, when the NBA presented the idea of the play-in tournament, all the playoff teams were in the Orlando Bubble.
However, this year they aren't. With the vaccinations rolling out in full force, and the NBA ditching the idea of a bubble, this poses the concern of unnecessary travel.
After all, part of Cuban's concerns were about the crammed schedule with having to play so many games over a short period of time. This just adds to the fact of the schedule tightening up and goes back to the first point regarding injuries.
1. Play-In Tournament Negates a lot
This might be the biggest issue as far as the play-in tournament is concerned. A team fights all season long and battles game after game down the stretch and gets the 8th seed in the conference.
Their reward? A matchup against a lower seed. While the solution is simple– just win– it doesn't always work that way.
If you get the 7th or 8th seed, you very well could lose a game or two and end up going home earlier than expected with no shot to advance in the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference standings are the best example for this season's tournament. While a lot can change, it's concerning.
As we speak, the Charlotte Hornets are the 8th seed with a record of 27-26. The Chicago Bulls are the 10th seed, which qualifies for the play-in tournament.
However, the Bulls record of 22-31 is five worse than both Charlotte and the New York Knicks.
So, to sum it up, the Bulls could beat the Hornets and earn a playoff spot after having a worse regular-season record by a few games.
The Golden State Warriors could rest their stars and heal up, then just go absolutely bonkers in the play-in tournament to snag a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Of course, Steve Kerr won't do that, but it's an interesting idea to consider.
While Luka and Cuban have expressed their concerns with the play-in tournament, the NBA has not released any plans whatsoever to ditch the new wrinkle to the NBA Playoff picture.
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