A lot has happened in the past week of NBA basketball — the play-in games came and went, and the first weekend of playoff games is in the books. As a result, I have plenty to talk about.
Takeaways from the Play-in Tournament
Despite its flaws, the Play-In Tournament is here to stay.
Last Tuesday’s Clippers-Wolves game was the most viewed TNT game since opening night of this season. And in its three years of existence, the play-in tournament has featured names like Damian Lillard, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Paul George and Stephen Curry. But it’s also given teams on the playoff bubble a chance to move their chips to the center of the table, get creative at the trade deadline, and dream big — some successful (2021-22 Pelicans), and some not (2021-22 Kings).
The best part is that it gives those teams who sneak in from the No. 9 or 10 spot a taste of success that could jumpstart their ascension in the following years. It happened with the Grizzlies a year ago and would be unsurprising if the Pels followed suit.
The growing value of youth in the postseason
There’s this cool, and probably typical, blend of veteran and young talent dispersed throughout these playoff rosters, and I can’t help but put myself on blast for spending this season undervaluing youth when it came to teams ready to win now. Outside of Ja Morant, I basically counted out every first, second, or third-year player (my definition of young) being able to either lead their teams to the playoffs or make much noise if they did happen to get there. And for the most part, I was right — LaMelo Ball and the Hornets aren’t quite ready, and Darius Garland and the Cavs, albeit banged up, gave away a 14-point lead in a win-or-go-home situation.
But my stance has subtly changed. In reality, numerous younger guys are making meaningful impacts on playoff basketball right now. The one (outside of Morant) who’s actually leading his team is Anthony Edwards. But look at the various role players that are making a difference — the defenders (Herbert Jones, Jaden McDaniels, etc.), the secondary scorers (Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole come to mind), and the floor-spacers (Desmond Bane, Troy Murphy III, etc.). The list grows longer as you dive into the 16 rosters.
Of course, the natural rebuttal to this is to highlight many successful teams that fill out their rosters with veteran players via free agency and trades. Veteran-led teams have achieved the ultimate goal over the past few seasons (Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, Warriors). Still, it’s becoming increasingly evident that there is no singular right way for a team to raise its floor or ceiling — younger players can plug some holes.
NBA champion odds
How important is depth in the playoffs?
The value of depth has always been a topic of conversation come postseason. Is it valuable? Sure, teams that constantly battle injuries to key players could benefit from having guys 9-11 on the bench be worthy of regular minutes. And having a quality 10-man rotation during the regular season allows for players’ bodies to hold up adequately over the long 82-game regular season. But I tend to lean towards depth not being as necessary when the postseason rolls around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have your 10th man come in on a random night and give you a few game-changing threes while the rest of the team is ice-cold, but those moments should be few and far between. Instead, coaches should have a shorter rotation that emphasizes getting the most out of their high-end talent. Otherwise, there’s the risk of leaving bullets in the chamber, which could make all the difference in playoff games.
We saw such underutilization of high-end players hurt the Bucks in previous years when coach Mike Budenholzer kept limiting Khris Middleton’s and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s minutes. Fast-forward to this postseason, and you could see similar issues residing…
Read More: The importance of veterans and short rotations in the NBA Playoffs and more in