Teams play at a high level during the regular to secure a playoff spot, only to have to play in a tourney to secure the same spot?

I could possibly see it with the 8th seed, where the winner of the 9th seed -10th seed game plays the 8th seed to get the last spot. But for the 7th seed to have to play in a qualifying tournament is totally unfair.

The NBA would be better off having a 1-14 playoff tourney in each conference. Give the top 2 teams in the conference a bye, have a knockout playoff round for the 3rd thru 14th seeds. The 6 teams from that round would then go on to play the 2 bye teams in a regular playoff series. The last place team in each conference is automatically eliminated from making the PO.

The regular season would still be highly competitive because teams would strive for a bye, instead of playing in a one game playoff, as well as not wanting to finish in last place

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