Celtics Share Their Perspective of NBA's Flawed but Successful In-Season Tournament

The NBA's generating considerable buzz this time of year, and doing it with its on-court product is a significant win for the league.

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The NBA has had to grapple with the reality that a significant percentage of its audience is more interested in transactions and rumors or watches highlight reels but not games.

And one wouldn't blame the league if it long felt resigned to barely registering on the radar of casual fans during football season.

Enter the In-Season Tournament, a structure designed to shake up the monotony of the 82-game campaign, just as the NBA secures new television contracts.

And while it's fair to argue a $500 thousand cash prize isn't enticing enough for the most important players, let alone the viewers, the group stage of the inaugural In-Season Tournament has been a success.

The games have been compelling, a reminder of how competitive elite athletes are. And on Tuesday, as group play concluded, the league generated perhaps more buzz than it ever has in late November.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) throws down a dunk in the In-Season Tournament.

With seemingly countless possibilities in play, thanks to the significance of point differential being the tiebreaker for teams with the same record, the electricity flowing across matchups simultaneously unfolding was palpable. It coursed through TD Garden during the Boston Celtics' 124-97 shellacking of the Chicago Bulls.

Their blowout victory included intentionally fouling Andre Drummond despite a 108-79 advantage with 7:22 left in the game. The ploy worked as the Bulls' center missed both free throws, helping the hosts' point differential in group play.

And with the Celtics accomplishing what it needed to and the Brooklyn Nets beating the Toronto Raptors 115-103, Boston emerged as the winners of Group C, advancing to the quarterfinals.

"We had a guy on our staff sitting near the bench, giving, once, I told him, 'Don't talk to me until at the point where it's necessary,' shared Joe Mazzulla after the victory.

"And so, once it got to 30 at the start of the fourth, we started communicating on what the Brooklyn game was going and what the deficit was," information that led to the decision to send Drummond, a poor free-throw shooter, to the line.

And while Derrick White conveyed that the coaching staff didn't talk about the Celtics needing to win by 23 to pass the Orlando Magic and win Group C, he said, "Everybody knew about it."

He also expressed, "This is a new thing. None of us have ever done this type of thing. Point differential is probably never really mentioned in the locker room in the regular season if it doesn't matter until this year," adding, "You're going out there and trying to win by as much as you can to advance."

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Derrick White (9) finishes with a two-handed jam in the Boston Celtics' In-Season Tournament win vs. the Chicago Bulls.

And while Mazzulla, White, and Jaylen Brown all voiced their team's focus was on "playing the right way," the latter joined the chorus of players and coaches who aren't pleased with the importance of point differential leading to tactics like intentionally fouling with victory firmly in hand or teams running up the score while the opposition's starters are on the bench in the closing minute.

"I think that the agenda has been to try to increase competition, increase revenue, make it more exciting this time of year," stated Brown after registering a game-high 30 points, pairing it with eight rebounds and six assists. "I don't have a comment, but there's a line between increasing excitement, revenue, notoriety, whatever, and compromising the ethics of the game."

Jrue Holiday, who finished with 14 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds in his first game back after missing the last two due to a right ankle sprain, also discussed having mixed emotions about what comes with so much weight placed on point differential.

"It just feels weird. Like you're disrespecting the game & your opponent... it feels weird but I also understand it."

Despite wanting to win the tournament, and understanding why the C's starters stayed in, Jrue Holiday has some mixed feelings about the point differential rules pic.twitter.com/DtAyo6b1Hd

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 29, 2023

As Chicago's head coach Billy Donovan put it before Tuesday's tilt, "I'm sure it's something the league will look into."

The key is likely to extend group play and stretch out the In-Season Tournament. That can create a change that eliminates the unintended consequences of placing so much significance on point differential without losing the buzz it brought to Tuesday night's matchups.

But the NBA's generating considerable interest this time of year, and doing it with its on-court product is a massive win for the league. And that's before seeing what unfolds in the one-and-done knockout round and the final four in Las Vegas.

Further Reading

Celtics' Focus on Winning Habits Keys Blowout vs. Bulls, Helping Them Advance in In-Season Tournament

Joe Mazzulla Discusses Strategy Behind New Wrinkle Helping Celtics Win on the Margins

An Empowered Jaylen Brown Strives to Balance Scoring with Playmaking: 'I've Grown A Lot'

Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Overcame Poor Second Half vs. Hawks Sunday

Celtics' Loss to Magic Highlights Their Most Concerning Traits

Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis Discuss Their Quickly Cultivated Chemistry: 'An Automatic Connection'

Jrue Holiday Shares His Perspective on First Matchup vs. Bucks Since They Traded Him

Celtics Discuss Significance of Rivalry Win vs. 76ers for No. 1 Seed in East

Joe Mazzulla Believes Celtics' Second Unit is 'Starting to Develop an Identity'

Kristaps Porzingis Gives Glimpse of How He'll Boost Celtics Late-Game Offense

Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present