NBA Fact or Fiction: How to improve the in-season tournament

As we projected when we announced its structure, the NBA's first in-season tournament was a huge success. The oracle you deserve is Fact or Fiction

First time in forever, pre-Christmas basketball had actual stakes. LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers will face Tyrese Haliburton's Indiana Pacers, a youthful team led by a rising star seeking a franchise title for the first time since the ABA.

James told reporters after his team's semifinal blowout of the New Orleans Pelicans, the worst game of the knockout rounds but still an experience because we can never be reminded how wild it is that a soon-to-be-39-year-old can dominate a 20-something game: "Adam Silver is a genius

We first heard about locker-room discord after a stunning loss from the Milwaukee Bucks

The stylized courts had one of my girls remark, "Wait, why is the floor like that?" I like them. She learned about the tournament and knew what was going on each time she viewed it. If a 7-year-old can figure this out in minutes, everyone should spot the IST.

Avoid making the courts so slippery next time. Perhaps the state's coolest high school gyms could host the games. Definitely improve City Edition shirts. Continue creativity workshops here

We need a week or something to play consecutive in-season tournament games. Spacing them out eliminated drama from the first three pool games. Most people found sometimes, Oh, tonight is a tournament game

Every other night for nine days should be a competition. Each squad plays four nights and gets one off. Create a weeklong discourse around Thanksgiving, not on Thanksgiving.

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