Around the League: Week 2 (10/30 - 11/5)

[Split T]

I could be completely wrong, but I feel like this tournament is going to be a total dud. I don't know anybody who is excited about it or really talking much about it. Maybe when the games start I'll change my tune, but it just feels too early in the season. We don't even know these teams yet, we don't know who is good and who is over/underachieving. It's too early.

I mean I think that’s the whole point. The tournament helps identify who’s good. In a perfect world, the teams will go all out for these games and a picture of who matters starts to form. The actual single-elimination part isn’t for a month or more from now. These qualifying games help identify the best teams and weed out the others. The single elimination tournament will add 7 games between what should be roughly the best 8 teams(or the 8 teams playing the best) in the nba. How is that not a good thing? Do you want a 4th Celtics-Wizards game or would you rather have a 3rd Celtics-Nuggets game?

[ShelC]

It doesn't impact me as a fan tho. If each win counted for 2 wins and helped in the standings I'd be more interested. It could help us solidify home court advantage. It could help a lower tiered team make the play-in. Maybe if you win your bracket, you're awarded an automatic win in the playoffs to be up 1-0 before a series even starts. There are holes with those ideas, but those are things I could get behind. I think those are real stakes for teams and fans, instead of just prize money for players.

[Split T]

Ya I agree with that…I think it could be better, but they aren’t going to make changes like that in the 1st year. I think the tournament will adapt and maybe we will see some of that incorporated in future years.

[ShelC]

Solidly in the middle!

[Wally_West]

[Mori Chu]

Ya I agree with that…I think it could be better, but they aren’t going to make changes like that in the 1st year. I think the tournament will adapt and maybe we will see some of that incorporated in future years.

That's a fair take. Maybe the "version 1.0" of this tournament won't be awesome, but version 2 or 3 could be. We'll see.

[JeremyG]

Kinda takes "the painted area" to a whole new meaning.

[ShelC]

[Superbone]

It's also confusing. The tourny starts today and yet our game on Saturday is not part of it, right? Or is it? I thought we just play the five teams in our group at first.

[Split T]

The in-season tourney games are on established Fridays and Tuesdays…our qualifying games are as follows:

11/10 vs Lakers
11/17 @ Jazz
11/21 vs Portland
11/24 @ Grizzlies

Then the 8 team single-elimination tourney starts December 7th

[bajanguy008]

aaaannnd OKC is giving SGA a maintenance day for knee soreness
I'm assuming as if it was a normal regular season game

[Split T]

Is that real or a joke?

[Superbone]

The in-season tourney games are on established Fridays and Tuesdays…our qualifying games are as follows:

11/10 vs Lakers
11/17 @ Jazz
11/21 vs Portland
11/24 @ Grizzlies

Then the 8 team single-elimination tourney starts December 7th

Thanks, Split. I will mark these game threads appropriately.

[Split T]

Is that real or a joke?

It’s real…but also looks like he’s actually hurt. I thought they were load managing him…I was gonna say they’d certainly get fined for that

[Split T]

The in-season tourney games are on established Fridays and Tuesdays…our qualifying games are as follows:

11/10 vs Lakers
11/17 @ Jazz
11/21 vs Portland
11/24 @ Grizzlies

Then the 8 team single-elimination tourney starts December 7th

Thanks, Split. I will mark these game threads appropriately.

All games on those days will be in-season tourney games as well. So tonight everyone playing is playing one of the qualifying games. Blazers vs Grizzlies is the one that matters for our group.

Side note, the team with the best record in the group gets an auto-bid to the tourney(head to head record breaks a tie and I assume that’s only for tourney games. Would suck if our loss to the Lakers earlier counts for that). Then they select one wild card from each conference. Next best record gets this and since these teams will be from different groups, they won’t have played h2h. The tiebreaker becomes scoring margin…so be interesting if teams run up the score.

[Wally_West]

[Wally_West]

[ShelC]

I don't know what's up with Randle. He had offseason ankle surgery which may have affected his conditioning coming into the season but everything is off with him. No rhythm, looks like he's got no confidence with the ball whatsoever.

[Superbone]

They got rid of Van Grundy but they added Doc Rivers?!

[TOO]

They got rid of Van Grundy but they added Doc Rivers?!

Such a downgrade.