LeBron James made news a few weeks ago when he said the creator of the NBA Play-In Tournament should be fired. Which is hilarious considering that last year he said that “he was a fan of the tourney”. All I have to say on this one is, what the fuck LeBron? I thought you were smarter than this. The only reason why he went back on his statement is because the Lakers had to play their way into the playoffs. I guess he imagined him and AD would never get hurt like they did and would cruise to a top 3 seed. But if last Wednesday night’s game with the Golden State Warriors and the Lakers proved anything, it’s that the play-in concept is here to stay.
Wednesday Night = Showtime
Drama is the name of the game in the NBA. Every matchup or playoff series is better when there’s beef. Which is why I’m excited as FUCK for this 1st round series with the 76ers and the Wizards. Russ and Embiid have mutual hate for each other, so fire up the popcorn because this will be ELECTRIC. That matchup came courtesy of the Wizards blasting the Pacers out of contention in the 8-seed play in-game. It’s also gonna give Golden State a chance to let future MVP Steph Curry do his magic and will his team into the playoffs. Hell, the Warriors were 4 minutes from closing the door on LA before LeBron did his thing. That game was everything we needed. Giving teams a chance to play their way in while also gaining some much-needed momentum which is exactly what the sport needs. Just ask the MLB, it works for them. Except for when the Twins have to play in the Wild Card.
This year may be an outlier with some of the teams involved. I would have to think that both the Warriors and Lakers will be strong enough next year to avoid the play-in. But we’ve already seen the play-in format can give us some must-see tv. Just another reason why the NBA Playoffs (and the NHL) bring on the best time of the year in sports.
Professional Driver. Lover of all things sports. I once cut meat for Paul Allen and Mark Rosen. I talk on a podcast about men hugging each other aggressively.