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NBA reveals long-awaited format, groups for new in-season tournament
(www.thescore.com)
East - Atlantic |
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Boston Celtics |
Brooklyn Nets |
New York Knicks |
Philadelphia Sixers |
Toronto Raptors |
East - Central |
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Chicago Bulls |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Detroit Pistons |
Indiana Pacers |
Milwaukee Bucks |
East - Southeast |
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Atlanta Hawks |
Charlotte Hornets |
Miami Heat |
Orlando Magic |
Washington Wizards |
West - Northwest |
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Denver Nuggets |
Minnesota Timberwolves |
Oklahoma City Thunder |
Portland Trailblazers |
Utah Jazz |
West - Pacific |
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Golden State Warriors |
Los Angeles Clippers |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Phoenix Suns |
Sacramento Kings |
West - Southwest |
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Dallas Mavericks |
Houston Rockets |
Memphis Grizzlies |
New Orleans Pelicans |
San Antonio Spurs |
When you have contractual incentives that can trigger for millions of dollars that largely are based off your health, I don't see a lot of guys caring too much about this. In fact I can see the better teams purposely losing early in the knockout rounds to just not have to worry about it and focus on what really matters.
Dumbest thing is the two-way guys, the guys who absolutely would need that money the most, only get half of the winnings lol
So I don't see teams purposely losing, since it's not like they play more games unless they play in the final. At which point the different between 100k then 200k and 500k is not nothing. Even if some players or teams could care less about the tournament, I can't see them treating it less than a regular season game at the very least.
On your second point, yeah that's incredibly stupid. If the guys play in the games they should get paid for playing in the games. You're playing in an NBA game against NBA teams in an NBA tournament with payouts to players based on how far you go.