Welcome to the Winner’s Circle, a weekly column by Bet For The Win senior writer Prince J. Grimes. Here, you’ll read about stats and trends that can help you make informed betting predictions for the week ahead and beyond. Got something you want to see in the next Winners Circle, shoot Prince a message and check back next week for the response.
I’m sold. The NBA Play-in Tournament should be here to stay.
I wasn’t much of a fan when it was first introduced a couple years ago because frankly it’s a little silly to give the Nos. 9 and 10 teams in each conference a shot at making the playoffs. But upon further review, there isn’t much difference between them and the No. 7 and 8 teams. In most years, 7 and 8 don’t give us any excitement as they make the playoffs simply to get swept in the first round. They barely even earn their spots in the playoffs, often finishing under .500 and only outlasting the teams under them. At least with the play-in tournament, they can play some meaningful basketball and give us something worth watching…and betting on. Playoff futures provided value all the way to the end thanks to the play-in.
