There are many theories being floated for how the NBA should handle its playoff format, and one of the league’s players recently weighed in on the hot topic.
It’s been said that the NBA will likely resume play for the 2019-20 season on July 31. However, it remains to be seen if any regular-season games will take place, or if the league will just fast-forward to the playoffs.
It’s also possible that the NBA could do something in between, allowing the fringe teams to compete for the final few playoff berths. And if you ask Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard, well, he’s all for it, which he stated on ESPN’s “Jalen & Jacoby” show.
“I feel like a play-in tournament would be perfect, just because we actually were in striking distance and also had enough games to get in the playoffs,” Lillard said, as transcribed by ESPN.com. “But to that point, if they did decide that we’re just gonna go straight to the playoffs, obviously, we would all be disappointed… We haven’t performed to be in that top eight. So if that’s the case, then fine. But if we’re gonna just come back to play games, I feel like that’d be harder on everybody else.”
It should be pointed out that the Blazers aren’t really as close to clinching a playoff berth as Lillard says. They trail the Grizzlies by 3.5 games, with only 16 remaining. That’s a tough hole to climb out of, so of course Lillard is in favor of a play-in tournament, given all the talent the team has on its roster.
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