The NBA Play-In Tournament format is the same for both conferences. The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed in a game where the winner advances to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed while the loser hosts the winner of the game between the No. 9 and 10 seeds. The winner of that game makes the playoffs as a No. 8 seed.

Four teams of squads will meet up in San Francisco on Sunday, and it’s simple: two teams will play, another two teams will play, and the winners play each other in the finals. It’s meant to jazz up the old format that fans found stale.

Some players liked the new NBA All-Star Game format. Some didn’t. Some seemed ambivalent. It was entertaining and had moments when things turned competitive.

NBA All-Star event draws mixed reactions with minimal play and distracting celebrity antics. Players like Trae Young and Jayson Tatum express disapproval.

Welcome to the Bay Area, where the NBA was the biggest loser of all. On a mostly beautiful weekend in a mostly beautiful city, the league managed to turn its All-Star Game into anything but a showcase of the best basketball players in the world.