Answers finally start dribbling in Friday night when the league's long-discussed and hotly debated In-Season Tournament, designed to generate much-needed interest before Christmas, begins at last
I'm completely on board with this competition and I actually like the way it's configured. I do think the last round of group stage games are going to be interesting, especially if teams that haven't been close to a title in a while are hosting must-win games. I also think the point differential tiebreaker is going to add to the intrigue of the last group stage games...and could add a little spice to a rivalry if we get a situation where a team needs to beat their opponent by double digits to advance. Finally, the de facto elimination games that will arise later in the group stage should be fun - and you can bet LL Cool J will be featured heavily in the buildup to those games :)
Sure, there will be plenty of meaningless games later in the competition, but that's the case with any competition set up like this. I certainly think this was worth the swing the NBA took to spice up the regular season.
I am 100% with Marc here. I do not see the point in this pretend tournament at all, until we get down to the Final 8. I can't imagine players are any more motivated to win regular season game #6 because it also counts toward a trophy that has no history or value to players or fans. And the eye sore of courts just make it worse. ESPN and TNT are promoting like crazy but I just don't think I will care unless my team is in the Final 8.
Your curmudgeonliness is welcome here. The garish courts and new theme song are like putting lipstick on a pig. I love the romance of the FA Cup -- this is just a weak marketing idea that I can't see catching on.
Marc, Great read. Doesn’t it come down to match ups? That ultimately give you the Best of Best? Then again we just saw a local team The Rangers just won after 63yrs in waiting. But NBA tournament offers fans something new if done will be Awesome 😎 Thank You For everything you do.
I'm completely on board with this competition and I actually like the way it's configured. I do think the last round of group stage games are going to be interesting, especially if teams that haven't been close to a title in a while are hosting must-win games. I also think the point differential tiebreaker is going to add to the intrigue of the last group stage games...and could add a little spice to a rivalry if we get a situation where a team needs to beat their opponent by double digits to advance. Finally, the de facto elimination games that will arise later in the group stage should be fun - and you can bet LL Cool J will be featured heavily in the buildup to those games :)
Sure, there will be plenty of meaningless games later in the competition, but that's the case with any competition set up like this. I certainly think this was worth the swing the NBA took to spice up the regular season.
I am 100% with Marc here. I do not see the point in this pretend tournament at all, until we get down to the Final 8. I can't imagine players are any more motivated to win regular season game #6 because it also counts toward a trophy that has no history or value to players or fans. And the eye sore of courts just make it worse. ESPN and TNT are promoting like crazy but I just don't think I will care unless my team is in the Final 8.
Your curmudgeonliness is welcome here. The garish courts and new theme song are like putting lipstick on a pig. I love the romance of the FA Cup -- this is just a weak marketing idea that I can't see catching on.
Marc, Great read. Doesn’t it come down to match ups? That ultimately give you the Best of Best? Then again we just saw a local team The Rangers just won after 63yrs in waiting. But NBA tournament offers fans something new if done will be Awesome 😎 Thank You For everything you do.