[HitsterParticipant]

I like the idea of a 2nd competition for the teams to compete for. It doesn’t add a lot of extra games and creates a bit more interest.

Being in England we are used to most of our sports teams competing in several different competitions across the season although the leagues are decided mainly on finishing positions.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

I am fine with it. Basketball games can be random, which makes knockout tournaments so much fun. Even with the league being in an era with more parity, it is hard to argue teams can go deep in the NBA playoffs without really earning it. The Heat didn’t get lucky, they won 8 games against the Bucks and Celtics in a year where they had the most wins in the NBA. This can be different. I don’t think the Pacers or Hawks can win an NBA title next year, or even go on a Heat-like run, but don’t think it would be surprising if either makes a run in this. If Boston doesn’t adjust to its new roster early on, why can’t Brooklyn or Chicago get into the knockout round and make a run? The depth of the West is really on display, because I highly doubt anyone goes 4-0. I didn’t see a tiebreaker table listed in the NBA release, but my guess is point differential will be in there. The unwritten NBA rule of not running up the score when the game is settled might have to be put aside. It isn’t something we are used to seeing, but the idea of cheering for the Clippers to beat the Rockets by 7 points more than the Nuggets beat the Pelicans could be an interesting twist.

Ultimately, I think the Cup Final Four is a showcase event the NBA wants to put around the world. They are starting in Las Vegas, but I can easily see this going abroad. For this year, I noticed the league is using the Saturday after the end of the college football regular season for everyone but Army and Navy, which makes sense since the NFL is bound by law not to be able to broadcast their games on Saturday’s during the college football regular season. This means the NBA Cup has a pretty clear opening for the tv window after the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

[OhCanada-Participant]

It will be interesting to see how much value or recognition is put into winning the cup. Or which team will be first to win the grand prize and win both the cup and the playoff tournament in the same year. Hopefully both competitions remain competitive and teams don’t pick and choose which tournament to compete in. I’d imagine teams that lose their first two or three games will tank the rest which could create some issue assuming draft positions will be based on the win/loss totals of both competitions. Despite that overall this is a much needed change to an outdated format and I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

[HitsterParticipant]

All the group games form part of the regular NBA season so will always mean something. With them also counting towards who qualifies for the QFs then I doubt teams will sat any players for these games.

The final 4 in Vegas will be a spectacle and so you’ll only have the last 8 as either home or away. There is a nice financial bonus which will motivate the lesser players. Plus there are a load of huge names who have never won a title and even something new for LBJ and Steph to win etc.
but
The points difference could count in groups so games may stay competitive but if a team is already mathematically out they would only be playing for pride whilst the opposition is trying to maximize the win difference.

But if final group games are played at same time this largely negates this .

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

These are still regular season games, just designated as this elevated status of also being group stage games. I don’t see any tanking taking place. It is possible once a team loses twice that they might be willing to use a “rest” game for the Kawhis of the league, but that is hard to get around it. It will be interesting to see which teams go for “playoff minutes” in the group stage games. I don’t see veteran playoff teams doing so. The Warriors, Lakers, Suns, and Clippers don’t strike me as the type to press their big money, wear on the tires veterans to go for 38-42 minutes in November. If they get to the Final Four, I see it, but not the group games. I would hope the younger teams do. The Indiana Pacers or OKC Thunder aren’t playing into May. See if your guys have it in them to make a run to win it.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

I actually hate the idea. They’ve been floating this idea around for years and I was hoping it would never actually come to fruition. It Just seems like something that was concocted as an idea for the league to arbitrarily attach more meaning to regular season games. I mean, it’s something that the league can promote and market, but real fans know that this isn’t really going to actually count for anything. The vast majority of players and teams know this too and I doubt anyone really takes this too seriously.

[HitsterParticipant]

Ideally all games would be stand alone but then you risk the chance of some teams not taking it seriously. Teams would only need to go to “play off” minutes for 3 games if they so wanted and then only the finalists would need to do it for 3 games.

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