csdee

To play the Devil's advocate, quite apart from the obvious financial incentives of having a longer finals season to both broadcasters and the league – which is exactly why we now have a final 8 rather than a final 4 – there are other arguments in favour of wildcard rounds. First, it notionally provides incentive for more teams to play hard up until the end of the season, with 9th and 10th positions on the ladder worth fighting for. Second, it provides some redress to the imbalanced fixturing. Given that teams don't play each other twice a season, clearly some teams have easier draws than others (ignoring the fact that when you play another team is sometimes important too). This is also true in the NBA. So a wildcard round provides an opportunity for teams finishing 9th or 10th to perhaps demonstrate that they finished below the teams finishing in 7th or 8th position largely as a consequence of a tougher draw and that they are, in fact, the stronger team more deserving of a finals berth. All of the above said, I would much rather the inequities in the draw be sorted out rather than reaching for the money.