Exact format is T.B.C.

The Hungry Jack's National Basketball League (NBL) will introduce the NBL Finals Play-In next season which is guaranteed to shake-up the end of the season run for teams.

"We are very excited to announce that our Finals campaign will include a Play-In from next season, and believe it will add greatly to the excitement and intrigue as the season’s finalists are determined," NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.

“We are assessing multiple models of how the Play-In will be structured and how many teams will be included, and will make further announcements in the near future.

“We have seen how successful the Play-In concept has been in the NBA and the numerous benefits that it has delivered to fans.

“Teams will stay in the hunt for the championship for that bit longer, Finals spots will be decided in new and innovative ways, and an extra layer of excitement will be added for our fans.”

Could the NBL possibly stick their head any further up the NBA's arse?
A 'play in' for a ten team comp is ridiculous.

Oh so now they introduce this?

Actually scratch that thought since ScoMo needs to be fired and was luckily exposed in his first season. Carry on NBL, good work.

Could the NBL possibly stick their head any further up the NBA's arse?
A 'play in' for a ten team comp is ridiculous.

There's no such thing as a play-in.

They're just expanding the playoffs.

Great opportunity for the teams who finish just outside the four to keep their fans engaged.

That would have been cats and Phoneix this year, in 2021 would have been Kings and Bullets.

Its a great idea that gives more clubs opportunity for finals tickets, corporate boxes etc.. to improve the bottom line.

I wouldnt think you'd want to make it more than one team having a chance at getting in.

The model I like is the 4th placed team hosting the 5th placed team. If they win, they're in. If 5 wins, they host the next game and winner makes the playoffs (the main part for anyone wanting to be pedantic). Basically means the 4th placed team just needs to win one, 5th needs to win two.

Rewarding mediocrity, leave it as is.

Didn't Perth get in once on their long run finishing eighth in an eleven team comp, it’s rewarding bad teams.

Pretty sure the 2005 season both Andrew Gaze and Ricky Grace had their final ever games on the road in these "play in" games

Good to finally see.

Those one game elimination finals in the mid-2000's were cool.

Top 3 should be locked in and safe, no matter what. After that, I don't really care whether it’s two teams or four teams fighting for the last spot.

Great move

Lots of benefits to this

4v5, single game, 4 seed hosts...but only when the 4 and 4 sees are equal on wins (or maybe within one win of each other)

If there's 2 or more games between 4 and 5 then just get on with the playoffs.

4 and 5*

Just reminds me of the scene in BASEketball when they explain the finals series.
"If no clear winner emerges a 2-man sack race will be held on consecutive Sundays until a champion is crowned"

About 90% of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram people don't want it.
The nba fans don’t want a play in...

Maybe the nbl should have had a pole beforehand…

The NBA play in has been great, and the response on all the media that I follow on it has been generally very positive

Cram, the reason the NBA one is so great is because

A) the league has 30 teams
B) it helps prevent mass tanking

NBL doesnt have 30 teams nor does it have a draft so no tanking takes place.. I think its pointless to have in the NBL and rewards a team/s for mediocrity.

5v6 - loser eliminated, winner plays loser of 3v4 - winner locks in 3.

2 sudden death games and one to avoid them!

I don't mind it as just a 4v5 one off game. It's an extra product to broadcasters, and rates well with neutral fans.

Hopefully they learn from BBL cricket what not to do. They went from top 4 to a top 6 with a series of knockout and double chance games that made for a confusing finals series.

Pretty sure the 2005 season both Andrew Gaze and Ricky Grace had their final ever games on the road in these "play in" games

Hey Weedy Slug, I think you had "poll" in mind (whereas NBL had pole in hand).

"I still vividly recall Gaze's press conference up in Townsville. It was such an emotional one but the location and scenario around the ending didn't do it justice."

Yep, same with Ricky though. I was in Melbourne that night and Ricky got a huge round of applause after the game when it was clear he was done. I think as much as everyone loved Ricky, there was at least a little of "we think this is about to happen to our guy in the next game" to it

I can barely remember if at all that one which is sad considering I'm a lifelong Wildcats fan. Possibly not a TV game? The Gaze one was.

Err ignore the blonde moment above as the game had to be televised because it was a playoff game.

Were they television all playoff games by then? I know they weren't in 2003 because that Wildcats-36ers game wasn't televised and thus no footage exists, much to my annoyance.

*televising

This is why I don't like to post from my phone.

I think so. From memory when the playoff format was changed to include elimination finals part of the reason was to appease Fox Sports so that all games would be televised.

No wonder in NBL classic games you can't find particular games you want to watch.

Crazy some nbl finals weren’t televised. Makes sense why Rick Bruton introduced Single elimination finals. Wasn’t a fan of them.

NBL Classics show Ricky's last nbl game at the cage. Even Gaze’s last nbl game in Townsville.

Great move
Lots of benefits to this

NBL Classics show Ricky's last nbl game at the cage. Even Gaze's last nbl game in Townsville.

It's still at the same URL on the website, but it's not linked to anywhere. Soft deleted, basically. No idea why and I wish they'd bring it back, I stayed subscribed for years despite having Foxtel just to get the classics library.

@Another Anon

With the first nine months of the Baseketball postseason out of the way, the playoff picture is starting to emerge.

So, with last night's victory over Boston, next week the Milwaukee Beers must beat Indianapolis in order to advance to Charlotte. That's in an effort to reduce their magic number to three.

Right, and then the Beers can advance to the National Eastern Division North to play Tampa.

So, if the Beers beat Detroit and Denver beats Atlanta in the American Southwestern Division East Northern, then Milwaukee goes to the Denslow Cup, unless Baltimore can upset Buffalo and Charlotte ties Toronto, then Oakland would play LA and Pittsburgh in a blind choice round robin. And if no clear winner emerges from all of this, a two-man sack race will be held on consecutive Sundays until a champion can be crowned.

Very funny statman84!

I agree D2 that the 5 team finals system doesn't really work. It’s only good for money and doesn’t really help the nbl teams.

If they were going to extend the finals then make it even at least with just staying with top-4 or if they are so desperate then go top-6. Most top-6 seasons like this season (2022) have got winning records. Bottom 4 teams are all under .500.

Teams*

There's obviously no cosmological law that defines it, but my understanding is that basically a "play-in" refers to preliminary unbalanced round. A bit like a qualifying tournament in Tennis.

For example, in the NCAA division 1 "March Madness" tournament, they expanded it from 64 to 68 teams, by creating 4 play-in games.
But there's a reason for this.
There are 32 conferences, and the winner of each gets automatic inclusion. With the other "half" invited by selection. The argument was that some conferences were so weak, that winning shouldn't guarantee a spot. (A bit like the way Oceania is often treated in internal sport.)
So they expanded the selected teams to 36, and the 4 lowest ranked automatic teams, play the 4 lowest ranked invitees.
But there's no equivalent in the NBL, since we don't have conferences.