Rockets’ Daryl Morey talk beef with Charles Barkley, Harden-Giannis, and more

Midseason Tournament

Earlier in the season the NBA toyed around with the idea of a midseason tournament, which would reduce the regular season to 78 games. On top of that, the last four playoff spots would be re-seeded, based on the results of the tournament.

This would be done regardless of conference, which would create the opportunity for the NBA Finals to take place between two teams from the same conference, which is certainly an interesting idea. This is based off feedback from the fans, who expressed the desire to have a shorter season, and an in-season tournament.

We’ve seen far too often where a .500 team or even a team with a losing record get in the playoffs, even though it’s obvious they’ll be a first round exit. This is especially common in the Eastern Conference, where the competition level is weaker. In fact, there are currently three teams slated to make the playoffs with losing records, including two from the East and one in the West.

On top of that, fans stated that they wanted to see the final two rounds of the playoffs become more desirable to watch. As expected, the players and NBA teams weren’t necessarily excited about the idea of said changes, which Morey wasn’t too enthused about.

Everyone is like ‘I hate the midseason tournament’. We’re in a fight for attention and ratings and we’ve got to keep innovating. So let’s say the first tournament you don’t like.

That’s very fair, it could be a bad idea. We’ve got to start and then we’ll fix it. You don’t start if you smother the baby in the crib. And then we’re never going to innovate or find these more interesting solutions.

Morey mentions how the league needs to innovate, as they’re fighting for attention from the other leagues, which is especially true given how the NBA ratings are down. It’s also not surprising that Morey wants to innovate, as that’s what he’s always been known to do.

Next: Harden stepback