The NBA play-in tourney feels unnecessary this season

Sometimes, the old ways are best. 

Over the last few years, the NBA play-in tournament has produced unpredictability and drama. In 2023, for example, the Heat finished the regular season as the seventh seed but dropped to eighth after the tourney. As a result, they faced the top-seeded Bucks in the first round, leading to one of the biggest upsets ever. That postseason could have turned out differently had Miami entered as the seventh seed.

The tourney has also reduced tanking, with lower seeds trying to sneak into the playoffs and higher seeds being forced to maintain their intensity to avoid a sudden-death elimination scenario. All in all, the tourney has infused new life into the season's final leg.

This season, though, the play-in feels completely unnecessary. As of Wednesday, the top-eight seeds in both conferences had comfortably separated themselves from the rest of the pack. In the East, the eighth-seeded Magic (32-37) are 2.5 games above the Bulls (29-39) and Heat (29-39). Out West, the ninth-seeded Kings (34-33) are four games behind the eighth-seeded Clippers (39-30).

What's the point of the play-in?

One wonders if the NBA would be better off reverting to the traditional format of the top-eight seeds in the playoffs rather than complicating matters. In the West, especially, the 10th-seeded Mavericks (33-36) are so ravaged by injuries that their play-in games against higher seeds would not add any intrigue at all.

The play-in also adds an added workload on players trying to stay healthy for a playoff run. Stephen Curry, for example, is "exhausted," per Steve Kerr, but can't afford to sit games since the Timberwolves are within striking distance of the sixth seed. As such, Curry may risk injury to ensure Golden State avoids the play-in.

LeBron James, similarly, may be forced to return sooner than planned to ensure the Lakers don't drop to the play-in — a realistic scenario given how tightly bundled the West is.

NBA fans deserve to see 16 teams enter the playoffs at full strength. The play-in may throw a wrench into that scenario. That's precisely what happened last year when Zion Williamson got injured in the play-in and was sidelined for the playoff series against the Thunder. Here's hoping history doesn't repeat itself.