That has me thinking — could the nba learn something from NASCAR?

Perhaps.

When nascar was looking at how to make races more exciting they implemented the “stage” concept. So that each race has 4 stages and each stage winner is awarded extra points for wins and places, etc.

So what if the nba looked at the regular season as one big race (with stage victories at the quarters — say 20 games).

So a real simple way to do it would be — each regular season win is worth 1 point, and each stage win is worth 10 points. If you place second (5 points) and third 3 points.
Stage wins would be awarded by record and after each stage, the records a reset.

To further the importance of the regular season, only 6 teams make the playoffs (like baseball) where the top two teams get byes.
If you want more teams — go to 8. However, understand the more teams you allow in, the more diluted you make the regular season. Also, with this system and the small amount of playoff teams that make it, every game, every night would be an all out war. As no teams (even stage winners) would be safe.

There is also a lot of other things you could do with this, in the regular season, but just this simple change would (in my mind) make a lot of issues go away. You aren’t going to see a lot of load management with this. As teams fear not getting into the playoffs.


The cons to this (from a league perspective) is that the league is about promoting stars and they want their stars to be in the playoffs. And also — the whole sea change that is the fact that there will be less “playoff” basketball to make money on. But, with the marketing that could be had, from an 82 games of all out war, I think they could make up the difference.

One of the great benefits to march madness is the exclusivity of it, and also the one undone, aspect. The nba could have that, but they have to give up something to get something.

 

The illuminati

 

I am just trying to figure out something to make the regular season matter. Which it doesn’t and that is the point.

The mlb plays 162 games and only gives out 12 spots to the postseason teams.
The nba plays 82 and gives out a ridiculous 20 spots for the playoffs.

Literally 2/3rds of the league makes some form of the playoffs. I mean I suppose if you are a diehard basketball fan you are willing to watch this saccharine version of the nba every night. I am not.

And I have been saying for years that they need to make the regular season matter more.

The nba at this point caters to the casual kids who idolize stars like Lebron and Curry and just watching them play is enough.

I grew up on 80s basketball where teams didn’t like each other and it was a war. But nowadays all teams do is coast into the playoffs. They don’t care about seeding.

 

And still 20 teams make the real tournament? lol, yeah. That seems like it will work.

People want to stick with the status quo and that is basically what this sham of a tournament is. Baseball finally decided to listen to fans and made a better product and you know what, the world didn’t start falling.

The point is — if you want players to play hard during the regular season, you have to make the regular season mean something and this doesn’t.

It is laughable to get players to play hard knowing that a barely .500 team is going to make the playoffs and over half the teams in your conference will make some form of it.

The only way to change that is make it more difficult to get into the playoffs such as what my suggestion addresses.

 

The literal reason why this tournament happened was to get teams to play harder. So I’d say it is a well documented situation that they are trying to make games more exciting.
The problem is this is the wrong way to do it.

 

The playoffs are not the problem, it is the boring regular season.

This is also my problem with the NFL: that is, why should I invest into my team when I already know that we don’t have Patrick Mahomes, thus my team has no shot of winning.
If you don’t have a handful of qbs, you won’t win.

 

I don’t understand how that is going to add excitement. What I propose would — that if you don’t win a stage you cost yourself 10 points toward a limited number of playoff spots.

I guarantee you that on game 20, even on game 16, 17 and 18, there would be excitement — if you and another team are tied for the most wins that you are going to play that game like a playoff game because you want those 10 points.

There are other things you could add to that based on streaks and so on, but that would be radical. But if the league wanted to manufacture a streak and have it mean something they could add a point incentive for doing so.

The point is that in-season tournament or not, if there is nothing at stake, it isn’t going to solve anything.

 

Delete

 

Well, I think the point of the in-season tournament was to generate excitement. So, the league finds it important.

But beyond that, I am not sure I am overestimating it. When you consider that just about the whole world (women included) find march madness enthralling and hang on every game and kids playing their hearts out. When do you EVER see that in the nba? Never, and that is why March Madness has a choke hold on sports when it comes around.

The nba is (in comparison) a snoozefest. Partly because nothing is at stake and who wants to see teams jacking up threes all game long.
Don’t ask me to go to an nba game, when the players don’t even care about it.