Joseph
Slowly but surely, a professional Sports They are starting to look what they did before the epidemic turned them upside down. In the spring of 2021, we see (hopefully) the last remnants of tables and toys that have become odd due to COVID-19. This year’s NBA Qualifiers look different due to the pandemic, sure, but also because the league is trying a new coordination: Eight teams will compete in the play tournament to decide which of them will move to the actual qualifiers.
Here’s an introductory roundup of what the NBA Qualifiers will look like in 2021.
What are the NBA playoffs?
The NBA playoff format is usually simple enough. Teams with the best eight records in every conference they make, with No. 1 playing No. 8, No. 2 playing No. 7, and so on. (The league maintains two pairs of the division’s top ranked winners, but this doesn’t usually affect who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t.)
This year, the NBA abandoned this straightforward structure. Instead, teams at the edge of the knockout race will play a mini-tournament preceding the actual NBA Qualifiers.
When does this happen?
The gameplay event begins on Tuesday, May 18 and ends on Friday, May 21, and includes six matches.
How will tournament play work?
The teams ranked seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth in the Eastern and Western standings will each face a rift in making the main stadium of eight teams. But the path is much easier for the seventh and eighth-ranked teams, who usually enter anyway.
At both conferences, Team 7 will host Team No. 8. Whoever wins that match advances to the “regular” playoffs. Whoever loses that game plays the winner of the game between team 9 and team 10, and whoever wins this game also moves.
The effect is that the seventh and eighth seeded teams get two chances to win one match and join the field, while the ninth and 10th seeded teams have to win two in a row to enter the post-season.
Who is playing?
At the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics will host the seventh seeded eighth-seeded Washington Wizards, who finished the year in the 17-6 race to claim their place. Ninth seed Indiana Pacers will play 10th seed Charlotte Hornets.
At the Western Conference, the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers will face the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors, while the ninth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies host the 10th-seeded San Antonio Spurs.
The first group of Eastern Conference games will take place at 6:30 and 9 pm (EST) on Tuesday, both of which are on TNT. The Western Games start at 7:30 and 10 pm (EST) on Wednesday on ESPN.
Will these playing games be good?
Usually, you wouldn’t think so. These are the types of teams that have to bounce from the qualifiers quickly. However, all of these games carry high stakes, and few of them will likely turn into an entertaining game. Watching one match should be especially fun: The defending champions, led by LeBron James, will face Steve Carey Warriors after Carrie wraps one Most amazing seasons ever.
Why is NBA doing this game instead of sticking to its standard format?
Some of the reasons, though, are that the NBA has not been outspoken about all of them.
For one thing, the league has for years been looking for ways to make the regular season more important. The NBA, whether fairly or not, has earned a reputation as a league where the hard work doesn’t start until the playoffs. Teams reinforce this view when they make the (understandable) decision to rest star players during regular season matches in order to keep them updated in the long term (i.e., the playoffs).
Gameplay changes that dynamic. It is very important now that it is ranked # 6 instead of # 7, for example, because seeded # 6 includes a complete comma string while seeded # 7 is not. The league loves this kind of thing because it keeps the stakes of regular season matches high and, in theory at least, it keeps fans more interested.
Money is another reason. The Gameplay creates quite a few additional televised games nationally. This is more inventory, and therefore more cash, for NBA and its TV partners. The tournament is sponsored by State Farm; That’s also a few extra bucks for the league. The fact that one of those matches ended up being the Lakers against the Warriors will cheer the league even more because both teams have a big draw on TV and have to be hitting the ratings.
Is this a good idea?
It depends on who you ask. If you are a fan who enjoys watching basketball and wants there to be more of it, then yes. If you’re a member of the NBA team that finished 9th or 10th in your convention (or you’re a fan of one of these teams), then this is great for you, too. Your season will last a little longer.
If you are a gamer, the gameplay isn’t necessarily great. Season 72 games this year He already had an intense scheduleWhich means more stress on the athletes’ bodies in a shorter than normal period of time. Now the league is adding more matches before the qualifiers.
LeBron James He recently expressed his dislike Operating system, saying that whoever created it “needs to be kicked out.” (Even in 2018, when the league was thinking about the idea, James call It’s a “wack.”) However, it’s not entirely clear how widespread this sentiment is among the rest of the union’s labor base.
Who will win the NBA Finals?
This is still not clear, of course. This feels like a particularly wide open year, and at least six or seven teams have a reasonable chance of getting it done. The teams below are favorites, as predicted FiveThirtyEight projection model.
The Brooklyn Nets may be a favorite if their star players (Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kerry Irving) remain healthy. But it would be ludicrous to count the Lakers, which won the entire title last year and still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the list.
Utah Jazz is excellent, with both attack and defense in the top five by scale 1 point for every 100 ownership. The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the best and most varied big men in the league in Joel Embiade, plus all the sports and defense they need in Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris. The Los Angeles Clippers, which built their list around two of the best winger players in the league, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, emerged as the best three-point shooting team in the league.
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