We’ve all accepted the fact that if and when sports leagues do return this year, it will be under unique circumstances. On Wednesday, the NBA even floated the idea of going to a World Cup style tournament instead of their traditional playoff format.
The drastic change was surprisingly met with a lot of positive reaction from fans and sports hosts, with Colin Cowherd being among them. But Cowherd’s FS1 colleague Nick Wright was one of the few with an opposing opinion. During his weeknight show on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, Nick Wright noted the positive reaction to the tournament idea and asked why?
The concept would see 20 teams organized into groups of five, playing a round-robin set to open the playoffs. The top two teams in each group would then advance to a traditional eight team playoff.
“What is gained from that,” Wright asked. “Someone explain to me why it is we don’t want the regular playoff format? The regular seeding, the regular rules and regulations we signed up for?
Wright understands that things will be different when sports return because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the NBA Playoffs shouldn’t have to change. The concept “sounds fun” according to Wright, but it’s “wildly unfair.” Why should below .500 teams, who proved themselves unworthy of the playoffs through 65 games this year get a chance at postseason play?
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
