NBA In-Season Tournament Announced

I've been hearing talk/suggestions about an in-season tournament for the National Basketball Association for a few years now, but never thought much of it because I didn't think we'd see this happen. Well...it's happening. The NBA announced that starting with the upcoming season (2023-24), an in-season tournament will take place, and all 30 teams will be involved. I'm a little bit familiar with some sports doing this. I want to say Major League Soccer does something like this, but I could be mistaken.

So as I stated before, the tournament will involve every team in the Association, with the teams divided into six 5-team groups, instead of using the normally aligned divisions. The tournament will kick off on November 3, 2023, and will take place every Tuesday and Friday until November 28 (with the exception of November 7, which is Election Day). After Group Play ends, the Knockout Stage will kick off with the Quarterfinals on December 4-5, followed by the Semifinals on December 7, and the Championship on December 9.

As for the Groups, they are as follows:

The groups were randomly created, but they are conference based. Group East A consists of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Detroit Pistons. Group East B has the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat, the Washington Wizards, and the Charlotte Hornets, and Group East C has the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets, the Toronto Raptors, the Chicago Bulls, and the Orlando Magic. Group West A has the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Utah Jazz, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Group West B has the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Houston Rockets, while Group West C consists of the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the San Antonio Spurs.

In Group Play, each team faces the other four teams in their group one time each. As for the Knockout Stage, the six group winners will advance, with the other two teams being determined via a Wild Card format in each conference; the second place team with the best record in Group Play. In addition, all games will count towards the regular season standings and statistics.

Everyone has their opinions on this, and they're all interesting. The tournament already has detractors who think it's a waste, with the added belief that the tournament and the NBA Cup going to the winning team are meaningless. However, there are some also saying that it does bring some excitement to the regular season, especially due to the fact that the NBA regular season is six months long, often starting in October and ending in April.

Here's what I think. I can see both sides to this. The detractors are saying, in so many words, "Why would any sport have a tournament during the regular season that actually counts towards that same regular season?" The concept of tournaments is to stand out above the regular season, that's the purpose that the playoffs serve. On the other hand, an argument can be made that the NBA needs this, and honestly, NBA fans need this. The NBA doesn't have the luster it had about 20-30 years ago. Look at the other three leagues. The NFL, MLB, and especially the NHL maintain excitement all season long. The NBA doesn't. While the NBA and NHL clash with each other, and while each of the league's games played in November and December aren't as important as games played in March and April, at least the NHL makes their early season games look pivotal. The NBA--again--doesn't. They need this, and let's face facts, we do too.

With all of that said, the inaugural NBA in-season tournament does look like an interesting new addition to the season. It really has me looking forward to the upcoming NBA season!