NBA's In-Season Tournament Sees Increased Viewership, Moves into Quarterfinals

Despite Controversy Over Point Differential Tiebreaker and Specialty Courts, Tournament Receives Positive Reception

The NBA's inaugural in-season tournament has completed its group play and the quarterfinals are set, featuring a mix of established teams and up-and-coming teams.
The tournament games have seen a significant increase in viewership, with ESPN's games averaging 1.58 million viewers, a 24% increase over last November's games, and TNT's games averaging 1.32 million viewers, a 7% increase from last year.
Players and coaches have been incentivized to participate in the tournament with financial rewards, with every player receiving $50,000 for making it to the quarterfinals, $100,000 for reaching the semifinals, $200,000 for advancing to the finals, and $500,000 for winning the tournament.
The NBA debuted specialty courts for all 30 teams to use when they hosted in-season tournament games, though some designs and court conditions received criticism from players and coaches.
Teams were divided into six groups based on their records last year, and the NBA used point differential in tournament games as the tiebreaker, a decision that has been controversial among some players.