Joe Mazzulla does not like the NBA preseason: “I hate preseason games. We should just have practice for a month straight.”

40 comments

  1. Mazz knows what’s up.

    Preseason has been dreadful to say the least. And players aren’t really looking forward to it either

  2. I like this take. Unfortunately, the NBA makes money off preseason games now (i.e. games in Abu Dhabi) so eliminating them would only result in them expanding the season and adding more regular season games. Like the NHL just did.

  3. I’m not a fan of Joe, but I agree with this statement. Not enough practices before the season starts

  4. Agreed it’s basically a try out for younger players. I personally don’t take preseason seriously at all.

  5. Honestly, in football the teams are left to arrange any friendlies they want to participate in. Leaves it up to the org and manager how important live action game time is, vs training. If a manager wants to prioritize training camp and staying healthy, I say let them.

    Ofc there is the financial aspect of revenue from preseason friendlies/competitions, but that’s a different beast.

  6. Remember when they used to have like 6 pre-season games per team? Glad they reduced that, but realistically, there should only be like 2 or 3 pre-season games.

  7. Fans want to see their teams sooner and the league makes money. More importantly, it lets coaches test things out in a more dynamic and higher stakes situation than practice. Fringe players rely on it for a chance to audition for a roster spot somewhere. Pretty straightforward reasons in favor.

    It’s also rather fun to watch, if you enjoy basketball.

  9. You guys can’t handle four preseason games without complaining about how it needs to go away…?

  10. Naw preseason is for the guys trying to get attention and make a team . If you got a problem set your big guys, there’s plenty guys on the Celtics bench wanting to hoop

  12. This guy thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room in every conversation he’s ever been in.

  14. Reality is that the NBA is a global game, and a lot of preseason games take place around the world that promotes the league, gaining a larger commercial footprint.

    Same applies to the football (soccer) preseason that’s a huge deal in Asia.

  19. Maybe for some established teams, but I personally enjoy getting a glimpse of the young guys and the new squads. And I think it’s huge for some teams to build confidence.
    I wouldn’t be mad if preseason games didn’t exist but I’m definitely not against them

  21. Idk I feel like scrimmages against other teams where the win/loss doesn’t matter would be pretty valuable practice 

  23. Preseason games are there to build stuff through the community, a lot of preseason tickets are given away to teachers or underprivileged kids actually. My mom works as a pre school teacher in Los Angeles and they used to get clippers and lakers pre season tickets every year.

  27. Preseason is as much for the arena crews to get ready as the teams. If game one was the first time an arena put on a game it’s more likely there will be problems. I know there is usually a lot of continuity in staff but it’s something that all sports leagues do to ensure a better product.

  29. Oh look, he’s so weird and whacky. He watches The Town a lot. He’s contrarion and a weirdo.

    God, he sucks.

  32. NBA interviews in like five years: I don’t like playin basketball, why do we have to play games? Can’t we just collect money?

  33. I disagree. It’s kinda like a dry-run for everybody who works in the arena.

    Plus, g-league and undrafted players trying out for a roster spot can’t exactly do that in practice. You also only play against your teammates in practice. If you’re an awful team, how valuable is it really for your awful players to play against your other awful players in scrimmage? At least in the pre-season you can play against actual NBA players, even if it’s just a limited time.

    Also, most importantly, you can still practice before or during the pre-season.

  36. The way the NBA is going right now even the regular season is garbage. Shortening it to about 50 games would be ideal.

  38. I never understood the concept of preseason games, or why there are so many. Should only be like 1-3 games.. it just seems like you’re risking injury by playing a game that has absolutely no significance

  40. I love the people in this thread being like ‘no it’s for evaluating bench players!!!’ as if they know better than an actual NBA coach what NBA coaches use the preseason for 

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