Alternative idea to Play-In Tournament

[Ed Monix]

Not sure about how other CelticsStrong bloggers feel on this topic but I am against a play-in tournament...for me it's just a quick fix cash grab.

Adam Silver has been talking for some time about fixing the issue of devaluing regular season games but for some reason his idea is for a team that has slogged for 82 games to be in the top 8 (especially in the west) but then can be dumped out in 2 games even before the playoffs start. Can you imagine being the 7th seed with 45+ win record and then after a player suspension or short term injury, losing your playoff spot to a team that was under .500 for the whole season?

My idea is simple, inverse the lottery odds. the 9th placed team in each conference has the highest odds, 10th second highest odds ect. This actually fixes multiple problems, firstly it will force all teams to stay competitive all season, as the weaker teams essentially 'compete' for the best lottery odds. It will halt tanking completely and will stop teams from dumping or buying out vets for elite teams because they will need them for the whole season. For too long pundits and journalists alike have condemned and made fun of GM's for being 'middle of the pack' or 'competing for the 8th seed', which is essentially right but an insane concept. Teams ownership and GM's should be applauded for always competing and putting out an enjoyable product for the fans, not intentionally and strategically losing.

I know most will push back saying bad teams like Timberwolves, Wizards & Kings will always be terrible under this proposal, but that's the point! If the NBA stopped rewarding bad ownership, the owners would sell the team to someone who is actually competent. If you are a rich businessman and you are underfunding your team and staff, as a result you lose every game in the season and your punishment is you get the best chance at a LeBron, Jordan or Zion...why would you alter your strategy? Look at the Timberwolves, Wizards & Kings records over the past decade and how they were given great picks but still either made the wrong decision, ruined their stars development and then the star just left anyway. If the NBA lottery system was not in their favour I would guarantee they would either change their way of thinking in running the team or simply sell the NBA franchise quicker then in today's NBA structure.

What do you think of the concept? I know it's not perfect but IMO it's much more fair then a play in tournament.

[bopna]

I actually like the Play In because it makes those teams number 10 and 11 even 12 not tank in the final month knowing they still have a chance at the playoffs. Heck the Wizards right now are playing for their lives as a 10th seed which should have been out if there was no play in.

Look at the Suns for example last year... they were the hottest team in the bubble and didn't even lose yet they missed the playoffs...if there was a Play in then, I'm pretty sure they would have made the 8th seed and perhaps make the Fakers life miserable.

Now its tough luck if our Cs ended up being eliminated in the Play in but it only shows they are banged up and probably do not deserve to be in the playoffs anyway should they lose but it is what it is... I'm still optimistic they get the 5th or 6th seed

[Donoghus]

Hate it. 

This is a horrible idea for the bottom dwelling teams but, more importantly, their fans.   Destroys hope that a terrible team can find a franchise guy to turn their franchise around.  Oftentimes, bad management is part of the problem but its not always the single problem for the downtrodden. You're also going most likely see drops at the gate for these teams which won't help matters.

[Ed Monix]

I actually like the Play In because it makes those teams number 10 and 11 even 12 not tank in the final month knowing they still have a chance at the playoffs. Heck the Wizards right now are playing for their lives as a 10th seed which should have been out if there was no play in.

Look at the Suns for example last year... they were the hottest team in the bubble and didn't even lose yet they missed the playoffs...if there was a Play in then, I'm pretty sure they would have made the 8th seed and perhaps make the Fakers life miserable.

Now its tough luck if our Cs ended up being eliminated in the Play in but it only shows they are banged up and probably do not deserve to be in the playoffs anyway should they lose but it is what it is... I'm still optimistic they get the 5th or 6th seed

That is my point, although I think the Celtics don't deserve to win the championship this season, they will play 72 hard games over this gruelling season and if they are in the top 8, the Celtics do deserve the right to play in the playoffs. If Tatum or Brown were to get sick or pick up a minor injury for the short play-in tournament and miss it, the Celtics would lose. This is not a fair or sane concept to base a years worth of work on being available for 2 games.

[Ed Monix]

Hate it. 

This is a horrible idea for the bottom dwelling teams but, more importantly, their fans.   Destroys hope that a terrible team can find a franchise guy to turn their franchise around.  Oftentimes, bad management is part of the problem but its not always the single problem for the downtrodden. You're also going most likely see drops at the gate for these teams which won't help matters.

I understand where you are coming from but look at it like this, where did giving the Clippers all those top picks for the Sterling era get them? How have Wizards done getting Wall (1st pick) and Beal (3rd)? The Kings under Vavek? Donald Sterling use to actually like finishing at the bottom and getting top rookies because he could pay them less, they were crowd attractions and then he would ship them off when the rookie contracts were up.

Look at teams like Pacers, Nuggets, Bucks and Jazz, they are all small market teams that have very rarely missed the playoffs. These teams are always fighting to be competitive and have ownership that are invested in elite management and talent development. Most likely they will never get a top free agent and their GM's need to make perfect moves to win a championship. Imagine if instead of picking at the late lottery or outside the lottery completely they could have the best shot at picking Zion, Doncic or Towns. The teams would be able to compete with the likes of the Lakers, Warriors or Heat and guys like Towns would actually be developed correctly and as a result most likely would stay with his small market team long term eg. Duncan, Westbrook, Lillard ect.

[Moranis]

Teams would tank out of the playoffs in that scenario. 

[Ed Monix]

Teams would tank out of the playoffs in that scenario.

Not really, the best odds at 9th place would be .250 so there is still a .750 chance of not getting the top pick.

I believe teams that make the playoffs bring in 2 million for each playoff game from the gate revenue and playoff teams also split $23,287,266 for making the NBA postseason. An NBA owner would not pass up that for better lottery odds.

[tazzmaniac]

Teams would tank out of the playoffs in that scenario.

Not really, the best odds at 9th place would be .250 so there is still a .750 chance of not getting the top pick.

I believe teams that make the playoffs bring in 2 million for each playoff game from the gate revenue and playoff teams also split $23,287,266 for making the NBA postseason. An NBA owner would not pass up that for better lottery odds.

25% is the old odds.  The team with the worst record now only has a 14% chance to get the #1 pick and only a 52.1% chance to get a top 4 pick.  So they almost have the same odds of ending up with the 5th pick 47.9% as a top 4 pick.  The lottery is fine as is with or without the play-in games. 

[Moranis]

Teams would tank out of the playoffs in that scenario.

Not really, the best odds at 9th place would be .250 so there is still a .750 chance of not getting the top pick.

I believe teams that make the playoffs bring in 2 million for each playoff game from the gate revenue and playoff teams also split $23,287,266 for making the NBA postseason. An NBA owner would not pass up that for better lottery odds.

Of course they would.  They goal is to win championships not be 1st round fodder for the championship level teams.  Sure a small market cash strapped team or one that hasn't been to the playoffs in years might not tank, but I could absolutely see the Celtics (as an example) tanking their way out of the 7th or 8th seed (and almost assuredly a 1st round exit) and into the lottery for a chance to get a real meaningful top of the draft type player.  And it would be pretty easy to justify with Brown's tendinitis, Walker not back into form, and Tatum still be hampered by covid.  Pretty easy to justify shutting those 3 players down so they can rest up and be healthy next year, all while giving the team a shot at a legit player.

Even if you don't think teams would do that, it is a horrid idea for so many other reasons, the first of which most of the teams at the bottom are just bad.  They aren't intentionally bad, but they are bad.  Taking away their opportunity to improve would be devastating.  Especially for the small market cities that free agents don't want to go to.  Sacramento, for example, would be perpetually bad.  Like significantly worse then they are now under that sort of model.  They would never dig out of the bottom because they'd have no way to dig out of the bottom.  A proposal like that would cripple the league

[Csfan1984]

I still think best solution is a "sign or trade" salary exemption. Call it a "Push exemption" to get teams a little push next year. So teams that finish _ get _. Example

9= $17 million exemption
10= $12.5 million
11= $10 million
Only top 3 teams that don't make it get $.

If a team can get a good exemption to sign or trade for a impact player that would definitely inspire clubs to not tank. It is a more sure way to improve your club vs a draft pick. Let real bad teams tank, they need it. Let decent teams fight for the exemptions. Make the exemption combineable in trades to match salary and it's a hell of a off season asset. Many clubs rather have that than a 8-14 draft pick.

[nickagneta]

Hate the play-in but I think I hate this idea more. If the play-in is unfair to teams that played like crazy to earn their 7thband 8th spot, and it is, then this idea is exceedingly unfair to teams that are just bad and didn't tank.

Not every bad team tanks and as has been mentioned by Dons, those teams need some kind of hope to get better through the draft, and this doesn't do that for those types of teams.  And lest we forget, there are some clearly undesirable places to play in this league and no amount of willingness to spend ridiculous money is going to get free agents to sign to those teams. Therefore, saying that those teams new to get a new owner to do just that is not going to change the fact, no top players will want to sign there, so the draft is extraordinarily important to those teams.

[wdleehi]

I think including the 7th seed is to much.   

If they want 3 games to decide the play in:

11 Play 10
Winner play 9
Winner play 8

Three teams get one extra home date to sell tickets. 

Team 7 through 1 get extra rest.   

Don't mess with the lotto.   Bad teams should get the best picks.  Teams need to sell hope to sell tickets.

[footey]

I think the play in design is brilliant. It has really reduced tanking, made the last few weeks of season interesting for the first time.

Well done NBA.

[johnnygreen]

Teams would tank out of the playoffs in that scenario.

I agree with this. Also, the teams in that range wouldn't make moves at the deadline either. The odds of winning a title if your a 6-8 seed are extremely low. However, if those teams had a chance to land a top 3 pick, their odds increase drastically of improving seeding in the following years. Could you imagine this site if there was a reverse lottery this season. At a minimum, there would be a thread with a least 100 pages by now, debating if the Celtics should make the playoffs or miss them.

How about this for an alternate idea? Take the regular season seriously, and completely avoid being a 7-10 seed. We seem like a sad fanbase if we're complaining about the play-in tournament now that we are the 7th seed with only 7 games remaining. I still like the idea of the play-in, but the fact remains, that the Celtics haven't play like an elite or consistently good team all season. Is it a coincidence that LeBron is also complaining about the play-in tournament now that his team is a 6th seed, with a chance of playing in the play-in?

[PAOBoston]

Best way to fix tanking is relegation. That will never happen in US sports leagues though.