Alternative to NBA Play-in format

This season the NBA added a play-in format to determine the 7th and 8th seeds rather than just take the teams that finished the regular season in those spots. The change has received a fair amount of criticism. What fundamental problem were solved with additional play-in games? None, as best I can tell. More games mean more money?

There are a couple problems that ought to be addressed.

1. Many regular season games are not meaningful