Why is playoff nba games so different

Imagine your boss giving you $50 million guaranteed for your day job. Next, he tells you that you can come to work and take days off and watch your co-workers work when your body feels tired. Then, he tells you that the most important thing for most of the year is that you get your company to April with a chance to finish the fiscal year well. Then, he is emphatic that the most import thing ever is how you perform in May and June to end the fiscal year. So much so that you have financial incentives directed tied to your May - end of June performance, not the rest of the year.

What would your work effort and performance look like throughout the year?

Games are called tighter and games become more of a half court game instead of run and gun

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They really do need to cut the season in half

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Imagine trying to explain to these guys that they’re about to make ~50% less

It’s like a class where 80% of your grade is the final exam, you’re going to coast and then cram

Because every game means that if you lose you are closer to going home.

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We used to have players who loved the game, were maniacal about competition and we did have paycheck players too. Now they’re all just paycheck players who are told they’re just as great as those before them without ever achieving anything comparatively. It’s produced a culture of laziness within the league.

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Or maybe just maybe analytics made us smarter and realize that early in the season games meant nothing in the grand scheme of things… you think Russell and Kareem and Magic and Bird went balls to the wall before Christmas?

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Imagine trying to explain to these guys that they’re about to make ~50% less

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Imagine telling them they’re going to have to find something else to do making a minuscule amount.