Written By: Paul Egbeyemi
Edited By: Jovan Popovic
The playoffs invoke feelings of competitiveness, aggression and even angst. Teams fought a season long 82 games for a chance at playoff berth, and for their franchise to receive the ultimate crown of NBA champion. The playoffs were where memories cemented, and stars were made. From games one through seven, NBA teams competed to discover who wanted it more. Both underdogs and star-studded teams alike earned the opportunity to win it all.
The playoffs still exist, and are currently being played, so one could question why the writing has taken a past tense tonality thus far. This is because I believe the sacredness that once surrounded the playoffs is a thing of the past, and it's all due to the NBA play-in. Before the play-in, the top eight seeds from each conference earned playoff berths and fought towards champion status. Now with the play-in, seeds 10 through seven compete in a preliminary knockout tournament that ends with four play-in winners per conference being pushed into playoff rounds. While it may seem harmless to add two more seeds into a possible playoff position, the following writing will describe exactly why it hurts the playoffs more than it benefits them.
First and foremost, a team who qualifies rightfully at a seven or eight seed may lose their playoff spot to a nine or 10 seed who otherwise would not have made the playoffs. For years less competitive teams fought for the final playoff seeds, which would give their supporters a reason to continue to believe. Everyone loves underdog playoff runs where less-powerful teams manage to defeat the frontrunners. Legendary underdog teams such as the 2006-07 “we believe” Golden State Warriors, and the 2010-11 Memphis Grizzlies, were both eighth seed teams that managed to defeat their respective top seeded opponents.
With the play-in tournament in effect, these legendary underdog runs could have been thwarted completely, which speaks to the unnatural way the play-in merges with necessary playoff unpredictability. Teams only play one or two play-in games, and the outcome of those games decides whether you deserve a playoff spot, rather than seasonal success, which the NBA used to focus on. From this, the entire fabric of the NBA has changed. The season has been devalued for many less seasonally successful teams, considering you can rely on play-in victories for playoff berths. This results in sitting stars and careless games, which fans never enjoy.
One could argue that the play-in strengthens the playoffs. Perhaps the logical conclusion is that adding more teams into potential playoff positions adds more unpredictability into the mix. The issue with that thought process is that the NBA does not follow a logical train of thought.
Teams are more than numbers and stat lines, and their abilities are not always reflected through their season position. The best example of this would be this season with the Lakers. With a record of 33-49, someone who doesn't watch basketball could assume the team simply isn't good enough. In actuality, the Lakers were a star-studded team, composed of multiple MVP winners and all-stars who can compete amongst the NBA’s most elite when all their pieces sync together. Their issue is that they simply do not sync when it matters, which landed them the 11th seed in the western conference.
Normally an 11th seed finish for a team as highly esteemed as the Lakers would be terrible, but they landed just 1 seed away from a play-in position, which could have resulted in a playoff berth. With such a loaded team, should they have gotten in, it could’ve significantly disrupted the landscape of the NBA playoffs.
This illustrates a distinct negative quality of the play-in, as it essentially rewards bad seasons. The Lakers had multiple on court and off court issues, yet they could have easily taken a playoff spot away from the seventh seed Timberwolves who have less star power, but still worked all season for a better playoff spot.
The existence of the play-in only reinforces the notion that the NBA values teams with star-power who can draw in more ticket revenue over teams that worked hard all season to earn and attain a real playoff seed. If you can string together a half decent record (even a losing record) you might make the NBA playoffs. A star-studded 10th seed could be behind the seventh seed by 15 games, yet all the 10 seed needs to do is utilize star players to win two play-in games and their playoff spot is solidified.
The play-in from a distance looks like harmless added competition, but it has single handedly hurt the sanctity of the NBA Playoffs. It was shown to ruin potential underdog stories, while devaluing regular season play. The play-in gives undeserving teams a chance at playoff success and prioritizes star power over season long efforts. The play-in was introduced as a part of NBA’s COVID19 response, and hopefully the play-in, along with COVID19, can fully phase out of our contemporary society.
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