Tag Archives: NBA

2024 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament

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The 2024 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament will include teams with the 7th through 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference and take place April 16-19.

The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament will determine the teams that fill the seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference for the 2024 NBA playoffs.

The Play-In Tournament will take place Tuesday, April 16 – Friday, April 19, with the games played after the regular season concludes and before the first round of the NBA playoffs begins.

While the teams that finish Nos. 1-6 in the standings of each conference are guaranteed a playoff spot, the teams that finish Nos. 7-10 in the standings will enter the Play-In Tournament. These teams will battle for the seventh and eighth playoff seeds.

Each conference’s No. 7 team in the standings will host the No. 8 team. The winners secure the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The losers will get another chance to earn a playoff spot.

Each conference’s No. 9 team in the standings will host the No. 10 team. The winners will advance to the final stage of the Play-In Tournament. The losers are eliminated.

The losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchups will host the winners of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchups. The winners secure the No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs for its conference. The losing teams are eliminated.

If the regular season ended after games played on April 7, the matchups would be:

Western Conference:  (7) Pelicans vs. (8) Kings and (9) Lakers vs. (10) Warriors

Eastern Conference:  (7) 76ers vs. (8) Heat and (9) Bulls vs. (10) Hawks

Basketball

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#NBA and #collegebasketball should implement a triple bonus policy of 15+ team fouls.

Basketball games are difficult to watch and appreciate from a fan’s perspective when one team is constantly committing personal fouls in the final minutes of the game in a desperate attempt to erase a deficit and achieve a comeback.

Currently, losing teams are free to commit an unlimited number of personal fouls to put the opposing team on the foul line in attempts to slow the game and to try to stage a come back. During these periods of relentless fouls and slowing the pace of the game, the game becomes difficult and painful to watch from the fans perspective.

To disincentivize this practice of relentless fouling in the final minutes of a basketball game, professional and college basketball should implement a triple bonus team foul policy of two free throw attempts and the ball out for the foul shooting or victimized team. This would speed up the final minutes of the game and would increase the enjoyment of viewing the game for fans. Television networks broadcasting or streaming the game would offer audiences a much better product, especially in the final minutes.

This triple bonus team foul policy would also force basketball teams and their players to become more discipline in the manner they play the game.

Fifteen total personal fouls are more than an adequate number of fouls to permit in a game. Effectively, every foul above fifteen would be treated like a technical foul, two free throw shots and retain possession of the ball.

It’s well past time to fix this part of the game that is painful to watch for fans.