Luka Doncic criticized play-in tournament: I don't understand the idea of a play-in

The play-in concept features the teams that finish from seventh to 10th place in each conference. The structure, which the NBA announced in March, includes three games in each conference

Luka Doncic criticized the NBA play-in tournament concept.

Per ESPN, “I don’t understand the idea of a play-in,” Doncic said Monday after a 113-95 loss to the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, the Mavs’ third defeat in four games. “You play 72 games to get into the playoffs, then maybe you lose two in a row and you’re out of the playoffs. So I don’t see the point of that.”

Dallas (29-24) is in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, meaning they would have to participate in the play-in tournament if they can’t move up. The Mavs are two games behind the Portland Trail Blazers, who own the tiebreaker between the teams due to beating Dallas in two of their three meetings.

The play-in concept features the teams that finish from seventh to 10th place in each conference. The structure, which the NBA announced in March, includes three games in each conference.
The seventh- and eighth-place teams play each other, with the winner earning the seventh seed. The ninth- and 10th-place teams also play each other, with the loser eliminated from playoff contention. The loser of the “Seven-Eight Game” and winner of the “Nine-Ten Game” then play, with the eighth playoff seed at stake.