Not every team excited about play-in format
A smidgen of irony accompanied Dallas star Luka Doncic’s wild, game-winning buzzerbeater 3-pointer against Memphis last week.
It came following Mark Cuban’s criticism of the NBA’s play-in game format in which the Nos. 7-10 seeds compete for the final two playoff spots after the conclusion of the regular season. Cuban bemoaned the inability to rest key players during a demanding 72-game pandemic-induced schedule as the Mavericks fight not only for a playoff spot but to stay out of the play-in game scenario.
The format is designed to give more teams a chance to make the playoffs, to create excitement, to curtail tanking and to make more games meaningful.
But had the Mavericks been content where they were in the standings with no need to win the game, maybe Doncic would not have played and we would’ve been robbed of another amazing Doncic game-winner. The play-in system met an intended purpose: the game had meaning.
Doncic also complained about the playin game, and Cuban defended his star, saying, “The worst part of this approach is that it doubles the stress of the compressed schedule. In hindsight, this approach was an enormous mistake.”
Cuban’s change of heart
Some in the NBA saw
the irony.
“I thought it was funny that Mark Cuban, who I absolutely love, pushed it,” New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Not only did he vote for it, but he pushed it. And now that they’re sitting where they are, they don’t like it.”
Cuban’s point should not be dismissed entirely, and while there are some high-profile injuries, NBA data revealed fewer games missed to injury this season compared to last season and the number of injuries to starters this season is lower than last season.
The play-in format, which was introduced last season in the bubble, works like this for this season:
The seventh and eighth seeds in each conference play each other, and the ninth and 10th seeds play each other. The winner of 7-8 is the seventh seed. The winner of 9-10 plays the loser of 7-8 for the eighth seed.
The seventh or eighth seed has to lose twice to
miss the playoffs and the ninth or 10th seed must win twice. It’s the NBA’s version of March Madness. Unlike in most previous seasons, just the top six – instead of the top eight – are guaranteed a playoff spot.
Increasing the regular-season stakes
The play-in format juggles the scenarios and bumps up the stakes. The Mavs might prefer the seventh seed, but they also don’t want to risk losing twice in the play-in games and miss the playoffs.
The play-in scenario generates intrigue in the middle and end of the playoff standings.
Take the East. Atlanta, Boston and New York were fourth, fifth and sixth entering the week, but Miami, Charlotte and Indiana in seventh, eighth and ninth place were at least within four games of the Knicks.
In the West, Dallas was seventh, two games behind Portland.
Or take the eight, nine and 10 seeds – Memphis, Golden State and San Antonio. The eight seed just has to win one play-in game and the ninth and 10th seeds have to win twice. It’s easy to see why those teams would rather end up in seventh or eighth place.
“For us, it’s awesome,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “For the league, it creates a lot of excitement and competition. I know they’re studying that and they’ll figure out how that makes sense moving forward. But hopefully we give ourselves a great chance in the last 20 games to keep getting better and make a push for the playoffs.”
Motivation factors for Warriors
Golden State’s Draymond Green dismissed the idea, mainly because he is used to being the top seed and going to the Finals.
“Fighting for a play-in spot does not motivate me,” he said. “Fighting for a playoff spot does not motivate me at all. I’m not thinking, ‘We’re right there on the fringe, we need to win these games for a play-in spot.’ No. I want to win every game I play in because I hate losing.”
But Warriors coach Steve Kerr understands how this scenario helps develop a team.
“I still maintain we have a chance to get a lot better and make a run,” Kerr said. “I realize that as we are currently constituted, we’re not a championship contender. I think that’s obvious. So I understand what Draymond is saying. After so many years of being a championship contender, it is tough to look at the standings and know we’re just trying to make it in the play-in. That’s a totally different deal than what we’re used to.
“But these are our circumstances. This is our reality.”