Is there an NBA In-Season Tournament Curse?
Even the most casual NBA fans seemed to enjoy the NBA Regular In-Season Tournament. The Semi-Finals and Finals were in Las Vegas, Nevada. It felt like a big deal. Bucks fans certainly enjoyed it. It felt new and “hip”.
Milwaukee went on to win in the “knockout round” against the Knicks. However, Milwaukee went on to lose in the semi-finals to the Indiana Pacers. It was the true start of what has developed into a wild, new, fresh NBA rivalry.
How have the Pacers fared since their second-place finish in the NBA In-Season Tournament?
What is going on out west with former Bucks Coach Darvin Ham? Are the Lakers going to need to make a big trade just to survive in the “real” NBA Playoff hunt?
Also, tired of blaming the In-Season Tournament for Lakers issues, that's a cop out
Since Las Vegas, here are the records for the four semifinalists:
– Pacers: 7-6
– Pelicans: 9-3
– Bucks: 9-3– Lakers: 3-9
— Law Murray 🧽 (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 4, 2024
Neither the Lakers, nor the Pacers, have looked great since the “big game” in Vegas. Is it good for a team to expend that much energy early? There seems to be a lot of questions that have arisen after this fateful 1st NBA In-Season Tournament.
Lakers Perspective since the NBA In-Season Tournament
The L.A. Lakers have played 13 games since they won the NBA In-Season Tournament. They are 3-10. It might cost former Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham his job.
Ham was a fan and player favorite during his time in Milwaukee. Now, after having won “the big game”, it now looks like his team is falling apart.
To the franchise’s credit they did create a unique, smaller in-season tournament banner to mark their win against Indiana (123-109). But they have seemed to certainly run out of steam.
Some of their losses have been brutal. They include losing to Memphis (127-113) and to the Celtics on Christmas Day (126-115).
Here is a clip on the LA Lakers In-Season Tournament Highlights
The Pacers Perspective
Indiana has played 15 games since the NBA In-Season Tournament final game.
They are 8-7. So, not great but not amazing either. From a Bucks fan perspective there have even been some memorable moments since then with “game-ball gate” and all of the Haliburton trash talk.
But the Bucks and Pacers are done playing in the regular season having played 5 times. Indiana in 4-1 against Milwaukee this season.
However, that may be one of the only good things to happen for them since taking second place. On 1.6.24 they suffered a brutal loss to the Celtics (118-101). They, along with LA, have looked out-of-sorts.
They have also had some tough losses. They lost to the LA Clippers (151-127) and to Minnesota (127-109). But those teams are good. Their most brutal loss occurred pretty close to that NBA In-Season Tournament Final Game, losing to the Washington Wizards (137-123).
Only Time Will Tell
Of course, only time will tell if a true “NBA-Tournament Curse” exists. It still is only the first one. But the early returns don’t look great for the teams that play in the final game.
For the Milwaukee Bucks it seemed exciting until it wasn’t. Milwaukee has played 14 games since they were eliminated for the NBA In-Season Tournament. They are 10-4.
For Milwaukee it is time to keep the eye on the prize. And now the true test of any NBA team remains: the long and tough grind of the NBA regular season.
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