For the last three seasons, the NBA has used a play-in tournament to determine the final two seeds (No. 7 and No. 8) in the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs. And while it gives more teams a chance to make it to the postseason, is it really good for the league? PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal who did not hold back when talking about the play-in-tournament.
“I’m not a fan of it, no,” O’Neal exclusively told PopCulture. “I was always taught, the first eight teams that have got the good records, they go in. Now they’re just giving teams an extra chance to be mediocre, but it works. It still averages out the same way. Seven plays eight, and 9 plays 10. It still averages out, but I like the old-school way. I like the motto ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”
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The play-in-tournament consists of the No. 7-10 teams in each conference. The No. 7 team will play the No. 8 team, while the No. 9 team will play the No. 10 team. The winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game will be the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, and the loser of that game will be the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 contest to determine the No. 8 seed. The loser of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game is eliminated from playoff contention.
This season, the winners of the play-in tournament were the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. And while the Lakers have LeBron James, it’s not likely any of the four teams mentioned will make a deep run in the playoffs as the teams ahead of them in the standings are more talented. O’Neal, who won three championships with the Lakers and one with the Heat, revealed his two dark-horse teams to win it all.
“I’d say Sacramento and Golden State. Sacramento plays the right way,” he said. “They play together. And Golden State can have that switch. All you know it takes one or two games for any player to be on. Steph and Klay to be on at the same time, hitting crazy shots, throwing it over the backboard, three-point shots, and all that. They definitely have a shot. So Sacramento and Golden State worry me.”
