NBA: 4 Season-altering surprises of the season thus far

The success of NBA In-Season Tournament

When the NBA announced they would be introducing an In-Season Tournament into the regular season, most basketball fans were very skeptical of the idea. Questions came up about how much players would care and if it would even pique the interest of fans, but the tournament has somewhat surprisingly exceeded any and all expectations among die-hard fans.

Aside from the colorful courts which give the game a different feel, these games, even though they still count as regular season games, have a different meaning to them besides just a win in an 82-game schedule. The main question was if players would care and that question was answered within a week.

Players love to compete as is but this just adds extra stakes for players who all want that $500,000 prize money. We know that not only do players like to compete but they also like additional money. At least thus far, it's added a different wrinkle to the NBA season. That can only be viewed as a possible right now.