NBA
The NBA Play-In Tournament Likely Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon
With more fair chances granted to teams and more wire-to-wire races, the NBA's play-in tournament likely isn't going anywhere
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
This is the second season in a row where the NBA has had a shortened year due to COVID and has implemented some sort of play-in tournament for the final playoff spot(s). The idea was to give more teams a chance to get into the postseason because they would be missing games that they could’ve used to climb the standings in a normal year. Additionally, the NBA wanted to trial this concept for future years that would create a more meaningful end to the season.
THE PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT LIKELY ISN’T GOING AWAY ANYTIME SOON
COLORS KEY | FULL WIZARDS OUTLOOK
The league was hoping that there would be more wire-to-wire races for seeding towards the end of the season with a play-in tournament at hand, and they got what they wanted. Trying to stay out of the seven spot in the West has been exciting, and still isn’t finished with two days left in the regular season. Portland and LAL still don’t know who is playing in the play-in tournament and who isn’t. Along with this, eighth place gets an extra shot to make it, where the ninth spot could be done after just one game.
Memphis and Golden State have been battling for the 8/9 spots in the West lately but this play-in has made for a potential LeBron vs. Steph matchup, which is a perfect way to drive in viewers. This year it was about giving more teams a fair chance like how DC was devastated with COVID-related issues early on, and their record reflected it. But now with an impressive second half of the season, they get a shot. With all the positives of the play-in tournament, it likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
🔥 21p/12r/17a/3s for @russwest44
🔥 37th triple-double of season
🔥 7th straight game with 15+ assistsRuss and the @WashWizards clinch a #StateFarmPlayIn berth! pic.twitter.com/4XlpMKeKPr
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2021
Share this Play-In Tournament article with friends and follow for more great sports content!
