3 outlandish suggestions for the NBA upon its return from hiatus

A play-in tournament would be incredible

Let’s be honest: The current playoff format is about as monotonous as it gets. Every year, the top eight teams from each respective conference—regardless of their level of competitiveness—are granted a playoff berth. When considering the number of teams in the league and the number of games played throughout the regular season, it is not uncommon to see as little as two games of separation between the seventh seed and the 10th seed in each conference. The tightness between these teams can undoubtedly lead to a handful of exciting games late in the season, but how can the NBA add intrigue and actually capitalize on this?

The answer is simple: A playoff play-in tournament. How the league would format this tournament would be heavily debated, but I have a couple of ideas.

First and foremost, for intensity and marketability purposes, the tournament would have to be single-elimination. Combining the skill of NBA players with the do-or-die style of March Madness is enough to make basketball fans and TV networks jump for joy.

Most importantly, however, is the depth of the tournament. A common idea for the potential tourney is to feature four teams from each conference. This way, the seven-seed would play the ten-seed, and the eight-seed would play the nine-seed. While this would be more compelling than the current format, I would love to see the league go even deeper.

Imagine a world in which a six-seed has to play a scrappy 11-seed to receive a playoff bid. The possibility of the six-seed watching their entire season get flushed down the drain by a team widely considered to be vastly inferior would make for some incredible drama. Try to convince me that you wouldn’t enjoy watching a single-elimination game between the perplexing Philadelphia 76ers and a young, confident Chicago Bulls roster headlined by Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Coby White, and Wendell Carter Jr.

That, my friends, is what they call appointment television.

Not only could this add intensity to the playoffs, but it could bolster the quality of the regular season as well.

Tanking would no longer be as attractive as it currently is for low-level teams due to their new playoff hopes, and mid-to-high level teams would become more competitive in hopes of solidifying a top-five seed. When you also consider that this format would create opportunities for young teams (like the Chicago Bulls and the Sacramento Kings—both 11-seeds at this present moment) to get a taste of playoff basketball, the possibility becomes even more enticing.

Speaking of playoff basketball…