After a successful play-in experience that unfolded during the 2019-20 season continuation at Walt Disney World over the summer, the NBA made the decision to expand that concept into the upcoming playoffs, hoping to be met with the same enthusiasm by those in the league.
Only, not everyone is a fan, including Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who voiced his displeasure about the concept on Monday night following the Mavs’ 113-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I don’t understand the idea of a play-in,” Doncic said, according to ESPN. “You play 72 games to get into the playoffs, then maybe you lose two in a row and you’re out of the playoffs. So I don’t see the point of that.”
Mavs owner Mark Cuban has his wunderkind’s back when it comes to the format. Cuban went on the record with DallasBasketball.com shortly after Doncic spoke up Monday.
“I think it’s not so good as a playoff format,” the “Shark Tank” star said to Dallas Basketball. “I would rather just see us go 1-to-10. The current approach doesn’t take into account how competitive the league is now and how hard it is to win games.”
On Tuesday, Cuban doubled down in an interview with ESPN.
“I get why the NBA is doing it,” Cuban said to ESPN. “But if we are going to be creative because of COVID, we should go straight up 1-20 and let the bottom 4 play in. This is the year particularly to do it since the 10 games cut [from the normal 82-game schedule] were in conference.
“The worst part of this approach is that it doubles the stress of the compressed schedule. Rather than playing for a playoff spot and being able to rest players as the standings become clearer, teams have to approach every game as a playoff game to either get into or stay in the top 6 since the consequences, as Luka said, are enormous. So players are playing more games and more minutes in fewer days.”
Dallas has a 29-24 record and holds the No. 7 playoff seed in the Western Conference. In the past, the top eight seeds in each conference earned playoff berths. But with the play-in format, only the top six slots earn playoff berths. The teams that fall No. 7 through No. 10 face off in a play-in round, CBS reports.
“In hindsight, this approach was an enormous mistake,” Cuban said to ESPN.
The Mavericks know that with the new concept, they’ll be fighting for their postseason lives, so the only way to work around it is to claw their way up the West standings.
“We’re just trying to get to the sixth spot,” Doncic said. “I think that’s our goal right now. Maybe even [higher] than the sixth spot.”
