The play-in tournament was implemented as a pre-playoffs event, where seeds 7-10 in each conference would compete for the 7th and 8th seed in those respective conferences. The tournament features a lot of “win or go home” single-elimination type games. That creates an elite atmosphere and every possession matters.
Even though the play-in tournament has generated a lot of elite basketball games, some people still don’t like it. Some have pointed out that this could mean that a team’s regular-season means less. For example, the Los Angeles Clippers won 6 more games than the New Orleans Pelicans but ended up missing the playoffs due to their loss in the play-in tournament.
However, the play-in tournament has some backers. Warriors forward Draymond Green and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma have both expressed support for the play-in tournament, with Kuzma claiming that it was a “fabulous idea”, and Draymond Green stating that anyone who doesn’t appreciate the play-in tournament is “stubborn and stuck in their ways”.
Play in was a Fabulous idea
— kuz (@kylekuzma) April 16, 2022
At this point if you don’t appreciate the play in tournament, you’re just stubborn and stuck in your ways. LIT!!! I’m locked in! Tough to win in the Q during the playoffs!
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) April 15, 2022
Kyle Kuzma: Play in was a Fabulous idea
Draymond Green: At this point if you don’t appreciate the play in tournament, you’re just stubborn and stuck in your ways. LIT!!! I’m locked in! Tough to win in the Q during the playoffs!
There is no doubt that the play-in tournament has generated a lot of buzz on social media, and there is a certain allure to having a lot of single-elimination games. That forces teams to treat every game like it’s a Game 7, and it also forces teams to up their game and treat the end of the regular season more seriously to try and avoid having to go to single elimination. Nikola Jokic even admitted previously that the Nuggets wanted to win all their regular-season games towards the end as they wanted to avoid the play-in tournament.
Hopefully, we see the play-in tournament remain. It is a good way to create excitement ahead of the playoffs, and give teams that figure things out later in the season a chance to make the playoffs.
