Nobody likes to play bgs with anyone below 5k GS. There isn't much room to outplay teams with more GS in bgs, but that isn't the case in arena.

I'd much rather spam 2v2 than spam bgs to grind honor gear. Yes, arena awards arena points, but that is weekly and isn't influenced by games played beyond 10. Honor could also be an incentive for people stuck at a rating to play more than 10 games, making the ladder more active.