Due to its certainty, there was no choice but to lend the benefit of the doubt to the idea of an NBA in-season tournament. Prior to its unveiling, at least.
We enjoy televised regular season NBA basketball games to a severe degree but the 82-game season is, inarguably, too many contests for a league which prides itself on a wearying, two-month postseason. Tournaments adding value to regular season performances in ways that directly contribute to playoff seeding are beneficial.
The argument, which I don’t favor, argues that any brand of tournament NBA basketball is better than the current dollop of TNT/NBA TV/ESPN nights of the NBA week, the same old teams at the same damn times. I also don’t believe the NBA is correct in taking on the NFL’s prime coverage territory, regular season chatter spots in November and December which Giants and Cowboys dominate.
I would still prefer the NBA eschew the idea of a single tournament and embrace the idea of a collection of miniseries throughout the regular season, limiting travel fatigue and jet fuel pollution while increasing competitive gusto when teams face each other several times a week. But I’ve been wrong before — look at my paid subscriber count — and have no choice but to dig in on a new approach.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Second Arrangement to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.