The NBA’s grand experiment this season has been the In Season Tournament. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the advertising, the courts, and the tie breakers are the talking points of the league.
Box office games like Indiana’s win over Boston and Milwaukee’s bout against New York in the quarter finals are putting a stamp on the perceived success of the tournament. The “single elimination” framework is injecting a March Madness-like zest and interest from players, coaches, and fans.
Part of that interest is what tournament results may indicate about your team. For example, in a recent The Bill Simmons Podcast where former coach Doc Rivers discussed the IST, he argued that coaches may leverage the unique situation of the tournament to test lineups, roles, etc.