The N.B.A.’s Play-In Tournament Isn’t the Problem
The New York Times
Though stars like LeBron James and Luka Doncic have complained about the pre-playoff hurdle, the stress of the play-in matters less than injuries and the compressed season.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James said on Sunday night that the league forces behind a playoff play-in tournament “should be fired.” Weeks before James voiced his displeasure, Mark Cuban, who voted for the play-in as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, called the concept an “enormous mistake.” I say they’re both wrong, and see the race to set up the N.B.A.’s play-in round from May 18 to 21 as the most invigorating aspect of a dour, draining, pandemic-skewed season. The idea here, though, is not to dwell on James or Cuban, two of the league’s most outspoken figures. They were offering emotional reactions to their teams’ increasingly unpleasant circumstances in the standings. Both surely know it was self-serving it came across to attack the play-in format only after their teams faced an acute risk of having to participate in it.More Related News