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The jockeying for positioning for the 2024 NBA playoffs went to the final game of the season. On Sunday, a handful of teams were trying to move up, particularly those who wanted to avoid the play-in tournament. A few, though, seemed disinterested in a win to avoid what could potentially be a hellish first-round series to open the playoffs.
In the East, the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls threw haymakers at each other for a full game and two extra quarters. New York eventually came out on top 120-119 to earn the No. 2 seed in the conference. They also set themselves up for a showdown with either Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat, the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Philly and Miami will meet in the play-in to determine the No. 7 seed and the right to face the Knicks.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, two teams who had a shot at the second seed in the East, didn’t go all out for wins. Cleveland punted and lost to Charlotte 120-110 while Milwaukee allowed the Orlando Magic to run all over them 113-88. Perhaps an early meeting with the 76ers or the Heat didn’t feel like a just reward for the No. 2 spot.
For this reason, NBA insider Kevin O’Connor suggested a strategy that would make punting somewhat irrelevant:
“The top playoff seeds should be rewarded with the ability to choose their 1st round opponent.
“Intentional losing to drop a spot for a matchup isn’t as exciting as teams competing to win for homecourt AND their choice of an opponent.”
O’Connor added that the NBA had done this before in the G League so the league should have a fairly clever idea how the strategy could work. O’Connor emphasized the rivalries that could build when one team picks another for a seven-game series. Plus, teams in the lower half of the standing can’t tank as the higher-seeded teams can still choose to battle against them early in the playoffs.
The NBA has made the games more exciting
This season, the NBA In-Season Tournament to spice up the competition during the league’s early months. As if on cue, the competition delivered, especially because LeBron James and the LA Lakers went on to win the championship against the Indiana Pacers.
The slam-bang action has rarely subsided all the way to the 82nd and final game of the season. The Lakers, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, OKC Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves were among those who were desperate for wins. The NBA could not have scripted how the regular would end any better. Fans expected the season to be exciting but not this exciting.
The excitement level will only go up as the play-in tournament games unfold and then the playoffs start. Surely tweaks can be done to make the competition even better for the fans. But as it is, most have been appreciative of how the season has progressed.
Guess the Lakers players!
