The NBA continues to push for a midseason tournament despite the fact most people clearly don’t want it. Players aren’t on board. Fans couldn’t care less. There is only a single person on earth who wishes to see this come to fruition. And that man doesn’t seem to comprehend why it’s such a stupid idea.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has fallen head-over-heels for a midseason tournament. It has been framed as a European soccer-style event. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear, what the NBA wants to do is completely different from that.
There is nothing wrong with change or trying new things. However, what you’re doing needs to be based in reality. Silver pitching an NBA midseason tournament as a basketball equivalent to the FA Cup or Champions League is unbelievably dumb. Like, it’s stupidity on the level of sleeved jerseys or whatever the hell the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest was supposed to be.
Two things handicap any midseason tournament from being interesting or anything close to what European soccer does. Let’s explore them both.
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1) There is no potential for upsets
If you have ever watched an FA Cup match, the announcers are obligated to use the phrase “The Magic of the FA Cup” no less than 47 times during the broadcast. It’s freaking annoying, but highlights what people enjoy about the competition.
The FA Cup gives small teams an opportunity to play against huge clubs whom they would otherwise never face. Every once in a while, you even get an upset or improbable tournament run, such as Milwall advancing to the final in 2004. This is also the same thing Americans love about March Madness.
Any potential NBA midseason tournament wouldn’t be able to provide the excitement of an upset. The Detroit Pistons were actively trying to lose games all year and they still beat nine playoff teams. Any drama or upsets would be completely contrived.
2) There’s nothing exciting about the same teams playing each other
One of the coolest things about the Champions League is that even when the same two teams meet, the matchup seems fresh. Clubs from the same country are kept apart until the latter stages of the tournament. Simply put, it feels special and unique when compared to the domestic league.
In theory, the NBA could invite overseas teams to take part but casual fans in America would hate this. It would also be problematic for the league when some international team eventually ends up winning the thing because they actually play hard and care. Could you imagine the scenes if CSKA Moscow with their roster of G League guys came over and won this thing? It would be awesome and extremely embarrassing.
That’s why Silver would never allow it. Instead, he wants to repackage more meaningless games between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic and shove those down our throats.
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The NBA midseason tournament will fail
Who is this NBA midseason tournament for? It’s not for the fans because we have never asked for anything like it. This monstrosity isn’t for the players either who have gone on record with their disdain for the proposal.
More importantly, this dumb tournament is simply ignoring the bigger issue at hand. The NBA regular season is boring and unwatchable. You don’t need to manufacture a fake competition if there was a reason to watch the games already being scheduled each year. But much like Rudy Gobert in front of some microphones, common sense isn’t likely to prevail.
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