The NBA In-Season Tournament debuted on Friday night, and 106.7 The Fan hosts Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier were having a hard time figuring out why the NBA’s version of the FA Cup in soccer should matter to them.
On Grant & Danny Friday, Paulsen didn’t quite get the choice to have a random draw of teams for pool play in the month-long tournament.
While he did appreciate that teams like the hometown Washington Wizards will have special court and uniform combinations for these tournament games, Grant didn’t understand the format of the competition as a whole and why it’s supposed to be a big deal.
“Because I’m me, and maybe it’s just that I’m cynical and I hate everything, I can’t grasp this,” Paulsen said. “I don’t understand why I’m supposed to care about this.”
“The NBA is trying to do something,” Rouhier responded. “Good try, thank you. I just can’t care, because they’re doing the regular season in conjunction with this tournament.”
Danny Rouhier continued that the whole idea of the tournament was just an effort by the NBA to stay relevant during football season portion of their campaign.
“They’re so desperate for eyeballs,” Rouhier said.
Grant Paulsen continued by saying that fans aren’t ultimately going to see playoff intensity in these tournament pool play games, but if the players care a bit more than the typical regular season contest, there is a chance it could be more interesting.
“I’m not convinced that they will. I think it’s gonna look the same and feel the same,” he said. “So you’re just telling me that this game was special? I don’t really get it.”
