This ridiculous group stage system is complicated me past perception, and zapping my enjoyment of the NBA Cup. Fortunately, I’ve ideas to repair it.
The NBA Cup is getting on my nerves.
I’m completely in favor of the idea in concept — I spent a great many phrases defending it originally of final season and totally loved Joe Mazzulla declaring battle on Andre Drummond and deliberately fouling him to run up a 27-point victory to advance to the quarterfinals.
However I’m form of over this entire group stage idea, which works higher in soccer when scores are 3-1 as a substitute of 138-129. I’m form of over “the Celtics have to beat the Bulls by 16 and the Magic must lose to the Pacers or beat them by lower than 7 and/or the Knicks have to commerce for Joel Embiid and the planets have to align in good parallax and all of us must sing ‘Wealthy Woman’ by Daryl Corridor and John Oates in four-part concord” for the Celtics to advance.
I’m form of over 124 phrase Tim Bontemps tweets explaining the eventualities. I’m form of over the Celtics’ broadcast staff brazenly admitting they don’t know precisely what the Celtics have to win, and I form of don’t blame them for it. No one can count on them to know that, as a result of the Celtics are presently profitable by 9, they want the Magic to win, the Bucks have to beat the Pistons by 5 or extra OR the Pistons have to beat the Bucks by six or extra. Like, come on.
The maths checks out, however I’m flagging this for the sanity police to try. The truth that the Celtics have some sliding scale of outcomes for a Bucks-Pistons recreation is totally asinine, and I don’t perceive why it may’t simply be a knockout event.
Image this: each staff is positioned in a 30-team, single elimination bracket, with the 2 NBA Finals groups from the earlier 12 months receiving byes. One recreation, midseason insanity, since I’ve had it as much as right here with this group stage absurdity. It can’t be that laborious to place some TBDs on the common season schedule and fly groups out for the video games, proper?
This may occasionally sound like bitter grapes, with the Celtics on the mercy of a very absurd three-way barnyard explosion of outcomes that makes Steven Hawking’s concept of parallel universes appear comparatively easy. However I legitimately assume it will enhance the product that’s nonetheless new sufficient to considerably change.
To those that would say a totally single-elimination bracket would infringe on the sanctity of the playoffs, I’d say that’s pointless fearmongering. No one within the English Premier League thinks the FA Cup holds a candle to the precise Premier League title, and it might make the event a billion occasions extra thrilling and a billion-and-one occasions extra necessary.
This group stage feels prefer it was designed to make the event really feel prefer it issues much less, and I’m of the opinion that the NBA ought to lean into the idea quite than handicapping it by complicated everybody. If the league needs followers to care in regards to the NBA Cup, a totally single-elimination event is a option to go, irrespective of how logistically advanced. But when they need followers to have the selection to care or to not care like they’re some form of bizarre NBA-cup-based model of Hamlet, then certain, let’s preserve it like this. I choose the previous.
