This season there is a huge gap between the 10th and 11th seeds in both conferences - basically splitting the teams neatly into tiers already at the beginning of March. Looks like this year there won’t be a fight for sneaking into the play-ins (unless the Bucks or Bulls somehow find another gear in the East).

What are the 11th seed and below teams supposed to do in this situation? Is there any incentive at all to get a better record?

Hopsalong | Nuggets

70 | 3 hours ago

It’s not the race for the play-ins, it’s the race for the lottery.

ForneauCosmique | Spurs

13 | 3 hours ago

It’s the race for seis for us again

Duckney | Pistons

0 | 3 hours ago

I think certain owners absolutely care about potential play-in & playoff revenue. You would probably have to pry that money from Reinsdorf’s cold, dead hands

Actually-Yo-Momma

51 | 3 hours ago

Looks like playins worked as intended for a while and now teams are deciding to tank even earlier to not be tempted by a late season play in run lmao

hickok3 | Raptors

16 | 3 hours ago

It’s more that this is an especially talent loaded draft that teams who otherwise may have made a push(Chi and Mem) decided to full rebuild instead. Ind was never going to compete this year with all their early injuries, and Brk just blew up their team and are playing 5 rookies legitimate minutes. Wsh should be in the play-in race but tanking this year is too lucrative. Mil would have been in the mix as well, and probably thought they still should m be with Giannis finally healthy, but I think they’re just too unorganized to make a push.

Ilikesporks_ | Lakers

13 | 3 hours ago

eh it’s more so that this draft is insanely deep. it makes sense to me why the tanking has been crazy this year and it’s cause of how many talented players there are in this draft. dybantsa, boozer, peterson, wilson, flemings, acuff jr, wagler, brown jr, etc.

_Meece2_ | Lakers

7 | 3 hours ago

We’ve had two teams crawl back from being terrible to being play in teams. We see this every year since the play ins.

Saw it maybe once every 6-8 years before they were implemented.

There’s maybe 2 teams going out of their way to be bad. Seeding is hella important this year and no one is wasting an L on the bad teams.

Someonediffernt | PHO

2 | an hour ago

There’s maybe 2 teams going out of their way to be bad

I’m glad somebody else sees it this way. You have people acting like every team should be 41-41 and that if a team has less than 30 wins right now its because tanking and not because some teams are just not good. Theres only so many wins to go around and for every team with 60 wins there’s going to be a team with roughly 20 wins

MrAtlantic | Hornets

2 | 3 hours ago

The play in needs to be removed, quite frankly. The playoffs already consist of over half the league, and the season is plenty long enough for teams to grind for a measly 8th seed if they are desperate for the playoffs.

Riskybusiness622

1 | an hour ago

Idk it adding drama to the season. If there was no playin all of the spots would basically be locked already and they would only be playing for seeding which is more boring in my opinion.

UBKUBK

1 | an hour ago

7-10 are all extremely close in the east and 8-10 are all very close in the west so how would all the playoff spots already be locked?

ElectronicReport4113 | Thunder

23 | 3 hours ago

There’s probably no fight to get into the play-ins for the 11 seeds, but there is definitely going to be a fight to stay out of the play-ins from the 5-10 seeds

moby323 | 76ers

15 | 3 hours ago

I thought with Giannis coming back the Bucks had a real shot to close the gap. I think he thought that too, which is probably why he is so frustrated

krusty-krab69 | Cavaliers

5 | 3 hours ago

A lot can happen in 15-20 games. But yeah i kinda agree that the play in is kinda set at this point. Just a matter of seeding

soilentgleem

3 | an hour ago

Yeah at this point in the season, anything more than a 3 game difference is pretty difficult to overcome without something like a big injury or player return happening. Even then, it’s a lot.

Riskybusiness622

1 | an hour ago

Not just seeding. If you don’t make top 6 you have to play elimination games before you even are allowed in the playoffs it’s huge.

niche_user35 | 76ers

6 | 3 hours ago

Well the Sixers are due to have more season ending injuries so I am waiting for them to drop down the standings.

soilentgleem

2 | an hour ago

Top Sixers are BACK baby!

DwarfPaladin84 | Spurs

1 | an hour ago

Playoff P takes offense to this 😤😤

SJCitizen | 76ers

1 | 3 hours ago

This is how it’ll be most of the time. It’s why I always thought having the 10 seed in the play-ins was stupid because the gap between them and the ⁷⁄₈ seed is usually pretty wide. Not all the time mind you but most years.

No_Caramel_1782 | Wizards

1 | 3 hours ago

The West is non competitive. The 6-8 teams stink and 9-15 couldn’t aren’t trying to make the playoffs.

Ok-Tree4365

2 | an hour ago

Clippers are 24-10 since December 20. That’s tied with Spurs as best in the West over that period; tied with Cavs in the east; 1 and 2 games behind Boston and Detroit, respectively). Most of their remaining games are against under-.500 teams, iirc, giving time to integrate Garland and Mathurin.

Who knows if that actually means anything in a playoff series, but they’re rising while the other playoff teams (and LAL/DEN to an extent) are falling.

No_Caramel_1782 | Wizards

1 | an hour ago

This is true. The Clips could still be competitive without Harden & Zu.

Electronic_Pea_4845 | Iran

1 | 2 hours ago

Its really just the top 4 the west tbf that are even relevant league wide

Ok-Tree4365

1 | 2 hours ago

The fight is for teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, Sixers, and Raptors to stay out of the play-ins. Given injuries and strength of schedule, the Clippers are really the only West team I could see potentially moving up to 6, while it wouldn’t surprise me if Charlotte and Atlanta jump up to 5 and 6 in the East.

ShowdownValue

0 | 2 hours ago

More like the 10th seed is 6 games back of the 11th

The 11th seed is 6 games back from 10th in the West and 5 games back in the East - the race for play-ins is over?