Tournament, schmournament

So the NBA's in-season tournament kicked off Friday night, and like a lot of you the Blob has questions. Mostly the questions are some version of "Why?" or "What's the point of this?", but let's put those aside for now.

Let's explain what this is, first of all. Or try to.

What it is, according to the league, is a tournament involving all 30 teams that will be played concurrently with the regular season. It will begin, like the soccer World Cup, with group play, and conclude with an eight-team knockout round. The semifinals and finals will be played Dec. 7 and 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Tournament games will be normal regular season games that count in the standings. The only difference is, they'll be played on designated "Tournament Nights." So you can go to a regular NBA game, but on certain nights it will also be an In-Season Tournament Game.

"Wait, what?" you're saying now.

Precisely.

"Also, what does the winner of the In-Season Tournament win?"

Well, something called the NBA Cup. And some extra cash, presumably. And I don't know, maybe a really cool tote bag or something.

"OK, but ... why?"

Ah. Now we're gettin' down to cases.

It's the Blob's theory that the In-Season Tournament is designed to gin up the early part of the season, when America mostly ignores the NBA for the excellent reason that its season lasts longer than the Peloponnesian War. Athens-Sparta was a speed date compared to it.

So, voila, the league decided to give its teams Something To Play For in November and December, even if it's sort of made up. This is aimed not only at the fans but presumably the players, too, who are likely kind of bored this time of year, too.

There's the excitement of opening night and the first week or so, and then reality sets in: Holy crap, we've got SIX MORE MONTHS of this! Time to pace myself.

But now?

Now there's an NBA Cup to play for!

And a tote bag. Don't forget the tote bag.