The Warriors would have qualified for the playoffs without it, but it appears the NBA hopes to keep the play-in tournament in place going into next season.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver joined ESPN Radio on Friday, and said he would like to see the play-in tournament again in 2021-22, but that nothing is confirmed in that respect as of now.
"I haven't made any secret that I want it to be [around long term]," Silver told Keyshawn, J-Will and Zubin on ESPN Radio. "I have two constituencies I need to convince of that. One is the 30 teams, and I think for the most part they've supported it. Again, I understand the sentiment if I were a team -- a 7-seed in particular -- the notion [that] after a long season, you could potentially play out of the playoffs. I understand those feelings. I think at the same time, the teams recognize the amount of additional interest we've created over the last month of the season plus those play-in games make it worth it.
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"Of course, the other constituency is the players. For example, one player, who is on the executive committee of the union, said to me yesterday that he really likes the play-in tournament but he felt it could potentially be a bit unfair. For example, if you were the seventh seed and you were a significant number of games ahead of the 8-seed, the notion that you could somehow lose two games and be out of the playoffs seems unfair."
The Warriors did provide two of the most exciting games of the season in their two play-in contests, including one of the most-watched NBA games in recent memory in the clash with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
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However, if the Warriors had finished as the eighth seed in years past, they would have automatically qualified for the playoffs, and would be the team traveling to Utah this weekend to start a series with the top-seeded Jazz.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors still had a chance at the eighth seed after losing out on a chance at the seventh seed against the Lakers, but Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the Warriors in a thrilling overtime contest at Chase Center on Friday.
With a healthy Klay Thompson back in the fold next season, along with what is expected to be a busy offseason for the Warriors' front office, Golden State is hoping it can be among the top six seeds that don't have to worry about the play-in tournament.
However, it sounds like the new format is here to stay.