The NBA tournament was a success this season, with the victory of the Lakers and intense matches, where the teams played the game. But ultimately, besides the trophy, dollars and a banner, Los Angeles did not win anything more for the rest of the season. LeBron James and his teammates even paid physically and mentally for this effort to win, with complicated weeks afterwards.
So that according to Shams Charaniathe “NBA steering committee, including all the owners and Adam Silver, is considering a system that could give an advantage to teams that go far in the tournament.
What options are available to GMs? The first: that the results in the tournament be the first “tie-breaker” between two teams. The second: let it be the second “ tie breaker » after the direct assessment between the two teams. The third: a mixture of the two, with the tournament as the first tie-breaker, then as the third or fourth criterion.
To give a concrete example: Orlando and Indiana finished the regular season with the same record (47-35). Since the Magic beat the Pacers two out of three times, they had the tie-breaker. If the first option is adopted, and as Indiana had reached the final of the NBA tournament, it would be Tyrese Haliburton and his teammates who would have had fifth place in the Eastern Conference. And not Orlando either.
Tie breaker : when two teams have the same record at the end of the season, home advantage is determined by a series of successive criteria. The first is that of the results of the regular season meetings between the two clubs.