NBA play-in tournament needs one small tweak
Over the past two seasons, the NBA play-in tournament has largely been a success. Teams which otherwise would have started tanking are now still playing their hardest, hoping for a chance at the 10th seed and playoff relevancy.
Unsuccessful as the Domantas Sabonis trade from the Indiana Pacers eventually may have been, the Sacramento Kings made the move to stay relevant. That's something that would have made no sense in past seasons.
But there is one small problem. The difference between finishing ninth or 10th – or seventh and eighth – is not a significant one.
From another perspective, it seems unfair that the eighth-place team will still have to fight to reach the playoffs despite finishing so far ahead of the ninth-place team. Some may point out that the eighth-place team has a large advantage over the ninth-place team. That's because the eighth-place team must win only one game while the ninth-place team must win two.
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WEST
#1 Suns vs #8 Pelicans
#2 Grizzlies vs #7 Timberwolves
#3 Warriors vs #6 Nuggets
#4 Mavericks vs #5 Jazz
EAST
#1 Heat vs #8 Hawks
#2 Celtics vs #7 Nets
#3 Bucks vs #6 Bulls
#4 76ers vs #5 Raptors
But the eighth-place team may face a tougher opponent in its first game than the ninth-place team does. And anything can happen in the third game. It seems unfair that it can all come down to one game despite such a huge gap in the standings.
The eighth-place teams from both conferences – the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East and the LA Clippers in the West – lost the third play-in game on their home court. Both lost on the road in the Seven-Eight Games before falling to the Nine-Ten Game winner.
Cleveland and the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets, both 44-38, finished just a game ahead of the ninth-place Atlanta Hawks and 10th-place Charlotte Hornets (43-39).
Atlanta won 107-101 in Cleveland to grab the No. 7 seed.
The gap was wider in the West, as two teams with winning records met in the Seven-Eight Game. The eighth-place Clippers (42-40) played at the seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves (46-36). Meanwhile, the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans (36-46) hosted the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs (34-48).
The Pels – who finished six games behind the Clippers – beat the Clippers 105-101 on April 15 in Los Angeles to earn the No. 8 seed.
Consequently, there should be one small tweak to the play-in rules. The play-in tournament only happens if the ninth seed falls within a certain number of games behind the eighth seed, such as four or five.
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The concern that people have repeatedly said about the play-in is that it allows a team with an incredibly suboptimal record to make it into the playoffs if they had a couple of good games.
Should such a team really be allowed in the playoffs?
The compromise that was reached was that it is much harder for the ninth and 10th seed to make it. Those teams have to win two games, with the second game on the road against a team that finished with a better record.
But while the play-in has worked to encourage teams at the bottom, encouraging the teams in the middle should not be neglected.
The mid-tier trap has been one of the NBA's biggest, constant challenges to solve. The NBA does not want a league where teams would rather be the worst seed than the eighth seed. And so, the NBA should make sure not to make it too easy for the eighth seed to fall out of the playoffs given a bad game or two.
Looking back to the 2015-16 season, this would only have eliminated the play-in game twice, one in each conference. Consequently, the play-in game would still happen most of the time. While it would not be a radical change, it would also make it fairer for the seventh and eighth-seeded teams to finish significantly ahead of their opponents.