As industries across North America and around the world continue to be hit hard by the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, NBA executives are still hanging onto hope that the 2020 postseason can be salvaged, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
“They’re very determined to have a champion,” one source told The Post.
League executives are hoping it will be possible to play five-to-seven regular season games followed by a 16-team playoff, according to Berman, who suggests those games would all happen in a single city and would be played behind closed doors. The NBA only wants to consider a single-elimination postseason as a last resort, but reducing each round to a best-of-three series is a possibility. One league official tells Berman that “nothing is off the table.”
Previous reports have suggested that the NBA would like to have each team play at least 70 regular season games, since there’s language in regional TV deals calling for a minimum of 70 local games. However, that has become less of a priority as of late, according to Berman, who adds that that idea of completing the full regular season is essentially a non-starter at this point.
A best-case scenario might see the NBA resume its 2019/20 season in late June or early July, with the intent of pushing the start of the ’20/21 campaign back to December, says Berman.
As for where the season might be completed if it resumes, one report last week said the league was eyeing Las Vegas as a candidate, since the city has multiple venues and has a preexisting relationship with the NBA as a result of Summer League. Berman confirms that Vegas is a possibility, but suggests the NBA has also had “internal talks” about locales such as Orlando, Atlantic City, Hawaii, and Louisville.
A player participation of less than 100% should be planned for, not be a surprise. They have money, they can make excuses not to show. Some will say no. What then?
It should not matter if rosters are not full or some players are out of shape. It’s not the usual season, and a greater test of adjustability will be included.
Scheduling a long second half will only add to the quarantine time so forget another preseason. (I assume a quarantine setup will be included.) Just get the ball tipped and let people see what happens.
For the NBA playoffs?? What on earth are you talking about. This is why they play.
I suggest isolating all players for 2 weeks to ensure that everyone’s is ok and then complete the regular season (70 games each) in Vegas. then shorter playoff series until the conference finals.
That’s a good safe consensus plan, but it’s also a fan fantasy. A quarantine is not in the CBA and will not be popular or possibly trusted by players concerned about the self-discipline of other players. Players have individual choices to make and are not as cash-hungry as Big3 players. Politicians are forbidding it, providing legal protection for players who decide to stay with the family.
Maybe the culture will be different in a couple months; Everyone counts on that but nobody comes out and says for instance the flu season is ending. So I’m not sure the national fatality numbers will be better.
It’s not impossible to continue but a number of things will be needed: timely competence, groupthink, and a bulldozing mentality going forward.
IF there is a season, seed all teams by their current record,, bracket them by seeding, have each round best two of three and continue until you reach your final four then go to win you stay, lose you go home. Abbreviated but entertaining.
I would love to see a single elimination tourney. Who wouldn’t want to see do-or-die basketball every night? Either:
a) Take the top 16 teams, regardless of conference.
b) Have all 30 teams participate. give Milwaukee and the Lakers a first round bye.
Have the games all in a single location, wherever that may be. That gives you a chance to try out seeding regardless of conference.
The way things are going. It’s probably over. We need to be handling the Really important stuff. Quicker we do this. The quicker we get back to some kind of normal. Get ready for Lottery and draft. Do it right. Get ready for next year.
Dude, now the world will go lockdown every year for the flu, right?
The longer you keep saying this, the stupider you look.