Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA's in-season tournament is a success

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 11/22/23

As Pacers-Hawks and Cavaliers-76ers reached their dizzying conclusions on Tuesday night, one thing became clear: the NBA's in-season tournament is a rousing success.

Per the Associated Press, "Ratings are up; the games being shown on ESPN have gotten 55% more viewers than the ones in comparable windows got last year."

Despite criticism lobbed at the in-season tournament courts ("The court was just slippery all game," lamented Celtics forward Jaylen Brown. Some "look a little funky" mused Lakers forward LeBron James), the prevailing sentiment is that the in-season tournament has been a win for the NBA.

"I think it's great, in the sense for the league to spice things up," James continued.

His head coach, Darvin Ham, echoed the only 39,000-point scorer in NBA history's comments ahead of the team's 131-99 win against the Jazz on Tuesday night.

Darvin Ham said the In-Season Tournament is here to stay:

“I don’t think it’s going anywhere … the games have been at such a high level … the In-Season Tournament has added some spiciness to the (typical) regular season.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 22, 2023

The Lakers won Group A in the Western Conference with their blowout win. That game was a snoozefest compared to the adrenaline-fueled Pacers win over the Hawks, 157-152, and the Cavs' 122-119 overtime win over the Sixers.

PACERS-HAWKS WILD ENDING

INDIANA WINS 157-152 pic.twitter.com/U79UYJtB8f
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2023

Pacers-Hawks total was set at 252.5, the highest total in the NBA in almost 30 years…

The Over cashed by 57 points pic.twitter.com/QRMdAg1XUj
— br_betting (@br_betting) November 22, 2023

What a sequence as both teams are trying to keep their Knockout Round hopes alive!

Cavs: 120
Sixers: 119

17.9 seconds left in OT

NBA In-Season Tournament
East Group A action on TNT pic.twitter.com/y0WXBWYx42
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2023

Those were the types of games the in-season tournament was designed to produce. With spots in the quarterfinals on the line on Friday and next Tuesday, Nov. 28, we should expect more exciting games with playoff atmospheres, as Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton told ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

"The in-season tournament is probably the first time that I'm really competing to win a championship on the NBA level... I've never made the playoffs or anything, so right here, it gives me a chance to do that," said Haliburton.

Indianapolis clinched a spot in the single-elimination quarterfinals with its thrilling win in Atlanta, allowing Haliburton and the rest of the young Pacers another opportunity in a high-stakes atmosphere.

"It's an exciting time for the league," noted Haliburton. "I think we're all trying to push the in-season tournament to be a bigger thing because everybody wants there to be some meaning to it."

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