Luka Doncic confused over NBA play-in tournament
This season, the NBA has chosen to adopt the play-in game format for the final two playoff spots in each conference. It’s a format that the league chose to initially have after resuming the 2019-20 season in the NBA bubble. However, not everyone is a fan of the situation, as Dallas Mavericks’ star forward Luka Doncic recently aired his frustrations with it (H/T Pro Basketball Talk)
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“I don’t understand the idea of a play-in,” Doncic said… “You play 72 games to get into the playoffs, then maybe you lose two in a row, and you’re out of the playoffs. So I don’t see the point of that.”
At this current juncture, the Mavericks would play the Memphis Grizzlies in a one-game play-in contest, with the winner receiving the seventh seed in the Western Conference. If the Mavericks lost that game, it would push them to the play the winner between the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors for the eighth overall spot.
Luka Doncic isn’t a fan of that format as the regular season, granted it being 72 games this year, is more than enough time to figure that out. It potentially adds more contest to the schedule and could see a team that finished in the top-eight spots out of the playoffs entirely before it starts.
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Ultimately, it’s a format that the NBA is using to get more primetime games with playoff implications. The MLB has already gone that route with their postseason picture with a play-in game for the final wildcard spot.
There is currently no indication if the NBA is going to keep this in place beyond this season.
