Subscribe
Follow Us
Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris is excited about the play-in tournament. After all, he'll just be sitting on his couch watching while the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum try hard just to make the playoffs.
The Sixers finished with the best record in the East, so Harris is naturally delighted heading to the playoffs. Plus, who doesn't want the extra couple days of rest because of the play-in tournament that pits the seventh to 10th seeds in each conference?
However, Harris got extra real why he is a big fan of the play-in competition.
“I'm a fan because we're not in it,” the Sixers forward said, per Chris W. Crouse of FortyEightMinutes.
There's certainly no lies there. After all, no NBA team wanted to take the play-in route after a grueling season–most especially those seventh or eighth seeds who would have automatically made the playoffs in normal circumstances.
Tobias Harris' remarks also reflects why the likes of LeBron James and Luka Doncic previously criticized the play-in tournament. To recall, when the Dallas Mavericks were on the seventh seed, Doncic was critical of the competition as he noted that it doesn't make sense. The Mavs eventually climbed to the fifth seed and avoided the extra work altogether.
As for LeBron, he had a rather fiery reaction when the Lakers struggled and eventually ended up going into the play-in. James slammed the play-in and even said whoever thought of the idea should be fired.
Sure enough, those who are out of the play-in like the Sixers forward will appreciate the intensity of the new format. After all, even while Curry said he is embracing the play-in, it is probably because they were already locked in for it and has no chance of getting higher than seventh.
