Being that IST games count as regular season games, I think one way to do tiebreaker could be the regular season standings. I understand that the NBA wants to separate the tournament from the season, but it seems to me that this is the best way to do it without having to disrespect the opposing team, which is apparently something that bothered the players. Also, it would mean that the best teams in the league would advance, which in theory would raise the quality of the games and fans’ expectations would be higher.