While we await the start of the playoffs tomorrow, permit me to stray from Bucks-centric coverage for an editorial on this year’s play-in situation.
First off, I like the idea of a play-in tournament. In years past, a few deserving teams with solid winning records found themselves with a bad lottery pick instead of at least home playoff games (and the revenue from having two at home). This mostly happened in the West: the 2018 Nuggets (46-36) come to mind immediately, but also 2014 Suns (48-34) and 2013 Jazz (43-39). Considering these teams would have been 6 seeds or better in the East, it looks even more unfair that they headed for Cancun while Kohl-era Bucks and the rest of the East’s dregs were being swept by LeBron’s Heat or Cavs.