The second annual NBA In-Season Tournament/much catchier ‘NBA Cup’ begins tonight, kicking off roughly a month of tournament games that fall on Tuesdays and Fridays. Then, we get into the quarterfinals and conference semifinals, the rules of which I am still not 100% clear on and am not ashamed to admit.
The newness of the Cup is what makes people skeptical of it. It’s what made me skeptical of it last season. It’s difficult to introduce new things into competitive ecosystems that seem largely “set”, which is why it happens rarely. My skepticism of the tournament came from the need to gameify what is already a game, but then I thought about how often the “product” of the NBA (e.g. basketball) gets complained about and realized the league was trying something. Trying something different versus just complaining about what already exists for the sake of griping is also rare.
Part of the fun of the tournament in its current, very green iteration, is its messiness. Last season, athletes were clear about how they, too, were stumped on the rules. How did the point system work? What were the knockout rules? Why were the custom courts so garish? But for the most part, players leaned into it. Did the Lakers lean a little too hard into it by hanging the In-Season Tournament banner in the rafters? Absolutely. But these are Tuesday night games in November — nothing about them should be sacrosanct.
A genuine lift I noticed and liked about last season’s tournament, and my real point of defense, is how these games operated as additional runway for a handful of teams on the verge. The In-Season Tournament was where we started to see the Pacers flourish and use the breakneck speed that went on to become a critical component of their entirely unique offense. The Pelicans also treated the tournament as something different, approaching the games like an escape from the early season injury woes that derailed them (unfortunately in a very cruel deja vu, we’re seeing the same thing this season). There’s going to be more emerging teams and play styles showing themselves this time around.
With so many young teams on the verge, or outperforming expectation, the tournament this time around offers the same potential of acceleration. The Rockets have been taking advantage of a sluggish start for some of the West’s regular contenders and are playing up, making the most of their close-to-home schedule (the team hadn’t left Texas until this past weekend). The Grizzlies could use the extra oomph, and Ja Morant tends to do well with stakes where he can prove something, and the Thunder don’t need the momentum with what they’ve been doing but also, why not?
In the East, with its scrabbling for position past the 3rd spot, any franchise from the Magic down could use the burst of the tournament, or treat it as a season re-start. The Knicks, Heat and Sixers, established contenders as they are, are teams that could do with some positive limelight. It feels like a losing prediction at this point to guess at what the Bucks need, but a run leading into December would definitely not hurt them. The Raptors, a team that’s been excruciatingly close in most of its losses so far this season, could use the little extra to play for that the tournament offers.
All in all, if the In-Season Tournament is something you’re rolling your eyes at, watch a few games and see what you notice. Does the urgency on the floor perceptibly shift? Are there standouts in the lineup using this small stage as an opportunity? Could they make the colors on the court any brighter? It’s easy to write-off new things, it’s a lot more interesting to give them a chance.
