POLL Are you a fan of keeping the play-in tournament?

[BigKen]

I've always hated wild cards and participation awards.

You win, you're in. Pretty simple.

Problem today is that owners, who are billionaires want to be trillionaires and will suck off an elephant or aa mosquito to make three cents.

By 2040 the regular season will be twenty games and every team will compete in a double elimination best of 15 game playoff that will run from Jan. 1 through July 4th.

 

[trojanfan12]

Fewer games means less money for owners. When have they ever voluntarily voted for less money? Play in is more money!

You want fewer games, the players will have to take a salary cut, because owners sure aren't, and I do t think players will either.

Yep, it makes me laugh when folks talk about fewer games. Nothing they are doing indicates that they intend to even consider fewer games. Heck, they are expanding the playoffs and considering an in season tournament.

 

[logic]

I've always hated wild cards and participation awards.

You win, you're in. Pretty simple.

Problem today is that owners, who are billionaires want to be trillionaires and will suck off an elephant or aa mosquito to make three cents.

By 2040 the regular season will be twenty games and every team will compete in a double elimination best of 15 game playoff that will run from Jan. 1 through July 4th.

Problem with that is you lose too many fans watching playoffs if you only take who "wins". And wins what? Conference? Division? How few teams should be in a playoff? If you just take conference champs it isn't even a playoff, just a championship. And when conferences or divisions are uneven, as they always are, you have 2nd, 3rd, 4th place finishers stronger than some winners. And that doesn't even consider if injuries have affected parts of your season. What do you want, the old bowl system where teams are locked into bowls and you vote for a champion? Because everyone loved that! The best playoff around is the NCAA basketball which takes the most teams because the best still usually wins and you get great Cinderella runs.

 

[shopson67]

I've always hated wild cards and participation awards.

You win, you're in. Pretty simple.

Problem today is that owners, who are billionaires want to be trillionaires and will suck off an elephant or aa mosquito to make three cents.

By 2040 the regular season will be twenty games and every team will compete in a double elimination best of 15 game playoff that will run from Jan. 1 through July 4th.

Regular season won't be decreased though, so rosters will be expanded to 20 and back to backs will be the rule, not the exception.

 

[shopson67]

The best playoff around is the NCAA basketball which takes the most teams because the best still usually wins and you get great Cinderella runs.

There are 353 division 1 basketball teams and 68 make the tournament (about 19%). By that example, 6 teams would make the NBA playoffs.

 

[logic]

There are 353 division 1 basketball teams and 68 make the tournament (about 19%). By that example, 6 teams would make the NBA playoffs.

But it is not about the %, it is about the # of teams. And we all know many of the teams tat get in have no chance to win, they just want to go on an upset cinderella run; and that is what makes it great.

 

[jontaejones]

Problem with that is you lose too many fans watching playoffs if you only take who "wins". And wins what? Conference? Division? How few teams should be in a playoff? If you just take conference champs it isn't even a playoff, just a championship. And when conferences or divisions are uneven, as they always are, you have 2nd, 3rd, 4th place finishers stronger than some winners. And that doesn't even consider if injuries have affected parts of your season. What do you want, the old bowl system where teams are locked into bowls and you vote for a champion? Because everyone loved that! The best playoff around is the NCAA basketball which takes the most teams because the best still usually wins and you get great Cinderella runs.

The tournament has a play in too and it's dumb.

If you can't make a list of 64, then you don't deserve to get in.

In the NBA, I mean ... I get that in the same way the play-in doesn't 'hurt' anybody.

It's just more basketball. If you like it ... watch. If you don't like it, don't watch.

But it's adding more to what is already a ridiculously long playoff format.

 

[logic]

The tournament has a play in too and it's dumb.

If you can't make a list of 64, then you don't deserve to get in.

In the NBA, I mean ... I get that in the same way the play-in doesn't 'hurt' anybody.

It's just more basketball. If you like it ... watch. If you don't like it, don't watch.

But it's adding more to what is already a ridiculously long playoff format.

I get the NCAA play-in more than the NBA. There are conference champs from small school conferences with automatic bids that have zero chance and the play-in teams usually have had good to very good seasons in better and deeper conferences and are more deserving of a shot. The NBA is more about trying to keep the number of teams tanking at the tail end of the season to a minimum (and to increase revenue, of course).

 

[jontaejones]

I get the NCAA play-in more than the NBA. There are conference champs from small school conferences with automatic bids that have zero chance and the play-in teams usually have had good to very good seasons in better and deeper conferences and are more deserving of a shot. The NBA is more about trying to keep the number of teams tanking at the tail end of the season to a minimum (and to increase revenue, of course).

I think one thing the NBA could consider is making the play-in and 1st round games staggered and concurrent.

That would draw more interest among fans who don't have a team.

They'd be more inclined to watch if there were 2 games going at once.

 

[Cyder]

I could take it or leave it. The season is already too long with too many games but if you root for a young and upcoming team a couple of elimination games could help your players grow.
Going tater salad

 

[shopson67]

But it is not about the %, it is about the # of teams. And we all know many of the teams tat get in have no chance to win, they just want to go on an upset cinderella run; and that is what makes it great.

How about the quality of those teams? Teams that lose more than they win don't belong in the playoffs. 8 teams per side makes sense and is already more than 50% of the league.

 

[jontaejones]

Also...

Just because you throw something on TV and book an arena for a game, are you really making $ off it? I mean, worthwhile money?

I mean, how much money are you really making off Atlanta versus Charlotte after having to pay players and arena employees? Does TNT really make anything off that after having to pay Charles Barkley, etc, etc.

I mean ... why not just make a whole nother 5th round for teams 9-15. If more basketball is more $.

 

[shopson67]

Also...

Just because you throw something on TV and book an arena for a game, are you really making $ off it? I mean, worthwhile money?

I mean, how much money are you really making off Atlanta versus Charlotte after having to pay players and arena employees? Does TNT really make anything off that after having to pay Charles Barkley, etc, etc.

I mean ... why not just make a whole nother 5th round for teams 9-15. If more basketball is more $.

Two team expansion, then EVERYONE makes the playoffs. Easier brackets with 32.

 

[Cyder]

Also...

Just because you throw something on TV and book an arena for a game, are you really making $ off it? I mean, worthwhile money?

I mean, how much money are you really making off Atlanta versus Charlotte after having to pay players and arena employees? Does TNT really make anything off that after having to pay Charles Barkley, etc, etc.

I mean ... why not just make a whole nother 5th round for teams 9-15. If more basketball is more $.

If they didn't make money they wouldn't do it.

 

[jontaejones]

If they didn't make money they wouldn't do it.

I guess...

If that was the case I'd be absolutely livid I was a MLB owner outside of the Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, etc.

Knowing that I could be making that much more money if they expanded the playoffs.

Football is a little different because of injuries but in MLB an expanded playoff is totally doable (not that I want it).

 

[Cyder]

I guess...

If that was the case I'd be absolutely livid I was a MLB owner outside of the Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, etc.

Knowing that I could be making that much more money if they expanded the playoffs.

Football is a little different because of injuries but in MLB an expanded playoff is totally doable (not that I want it).

MLB did just expand the playoffs. They added a wild card team in each league and will do away with the single wild-card game, and instead pit the third-best division winner against the last team in while the best and second-best wild-card winners play each other. These games will all be played in a three-game series' hosted by the team with the better record.

I think football added another wild card team in each conference and eliminated the bye for the team with the 2nd best team in each conference.

 

[jontaejones]

MLB did just expand the playoffs. They added a wild card team in each league and will do away with the single wild-card game, and instead pit the third-best division winner against the last team in while the best and second-best wild-card winners play each other. These games will all be played in a three-game series' hosted by the team with the better record.

I think football added another wild card team in each conference and eliminated the bye for the team with the 2nd best team in each conference.

I didn't know that.

I guess with the bye it's not terrible.

Because in baseball if it were 16 teams, a 88 win team can totally beat a 110 win team in the 1st round.

 

[Cyder]

I didn't know that.

I guess with the bye it's not terrible.

Because in baseball if it were 16 teams, a 88 win team can totally beat a 110 win team in the 1st round.

Yeah, with baseball all you need is a couple of hot pitchers a a couple of timely hits. I think the 2006 Cardinals won 83 games. If I have my numbers right MLB will have 110 of the 30 teams in the playoffs which is still the lowest amount of playoff teams in the majors.
I'm not crazy about the new MLB system, I liked the single elimination games. In this scenario the top 2 division winners get a bye and baseball teams don't do well with time off. They'll likely have 4 to 5 days off here and can get stale.

 

[jontaejones]

Yeah, with baseball all you need is a couple of hot pitchers a a couple of timely hits. I think the 2006 Cardinals won 83 games. If I have my numbers right MLB will have 110 of the 30 teams in the playoffs which is still the lowest amount of playoff teams in the majors.
I'm not crazy about the new MLB system, I liked the single elimination games. In this scenario the top 2 division winners get a bye and baseball teams don't do well with time off. They'll likely have 4 to 5 days off here and can get stale.

Yea it's a very bad idea for baseball to expand any more.

For the NBA, very few 7-10 seeds can really beat a decent 1 seed so its just really more games.

 

[logic]

Yea it's a very bad idea for baseball to expand any more.

For the NBA, very few 7-10 seeds can really beat a decent 1 seed so its just really more games.

The lowest seed ever to win a championship is a 6, and it has happened once. It is almost always a 1-3 seed.