The In-Season Tournament finally became a reality this weekend, as the first matches of this new NBA experiment have been played. However, this new cup’s rules and format are still causing confusion between fans around the world.
In a recent interview with Bones Hyland, he revealed that even players around the league aren’t clear about how the competition works. Just before it started last Friday, he didn’t hide his true feelings towards the NBA’s newest invention.
“I’m not even going to lie. I don’t even know what’s going on. I don’t even know how it works. I don’t know anything honestly”, he expressed during his team’s media introduction to the cup.
Here’s a quick explanation of how the In-Season Tournament will unfold, explained by former player Richard Jefferson:
“I am just looking at the schedule, I see on the schedule sheet like a trophy next to one of the games… I feel like the trophy is supposed to be in July… I am just trying to win the games, that’s all”, the Clippers guard then added.
The 26th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, who first played a couple of years with the Denver Nuggets, made his move to Los Angeles this past summer. The 23-year-old guard has been averaging 13.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per contest, with the Clippers holding a 3-2 mark.
ESPN’s Michael Wilbon recently ranted on why he believes this competition is a waste of time and has nothing special to it.
“I’ll give you a couple of reasons,” he shared on air. “It’s already supposed to count, Frank. It’s a game on the schedule. These aren’t separate games. It’s a game on the schedule you’re paying good money to see. Players are being paid to play these, and now you’re telling me, ‘I’m gonna assign something else.’”
The host of Pardon the Interruption is convinced that players don’t need any extra motivation when competing during the regular season.
“Speaking of our obsession with analytical junk, so I’m gonna assign something phony to it, let the marketing people run my league,” Wilbon explained. “The marketing people are gonna say to you, ‘Go watch this game, we’re gonna assign it an extra value, so then we can give people orange slices and trophies at the end of it.’”
Ben Simmons recently criticized Chicago’s bright red court which was placed as an In-Season Tournament tribute
Prior to Brooklyn‘s In-Season Tournament clash at Chicago‘s United Center this weekend, Ben Simmons let his thoughts be known about the court’s bright color. Every single franchise court has displayed a unique floor to pay tribute for the newest NBA cup.
“Not a fan of this one … I like colour and colour courts and things, I just don’t like this one,” the Australian star admitted before the match.
Ben Simmons kept it real about Chicago’s bright red court. 🤣
(🎥: @YESNetwork)pic.twitter.com/4c1ASQbqp7
— theScore (@theScore) November 4, 2023
According to analyst Wilbon, a legend like Michael Jordan never would have needed added motivation, even at the start of a new campaign.
“He didn’t need a phony cup,” the ESPN reporter kept at it. “He didn’t need a theft from soccer. This is to satisfy all the under-40 soccer heads…Frank, I know it’s gonna work. I didn’t say it wasn’t smart. It is smart. It’s a straight lift, so it can get a whole generation of kids that might go, ‘Ehh, I don’t know, I’m watching [the] Champions League.’ They’re gonna pull some of those kids away. It’ll work.”
