As American sports begin to gradually work their way back (with the frustrating exception of Major League Baseball), another league has decided on a return format.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the league will resume its season on the property of Walt Disney Resort in the Orlando, Florida area.
Live action is set to resume on Friday, July 31, with training starting between July 9 and July 11.
As a result, the seasons of the Atlanta Hawks (20-47), Charlotte Hornets (23-42), Chicago Bulls (22-43), Cleveland Cavaliers (19-46), Detroit Pistons (20-46), Golden State Warriors (15-50), Minnesota Timberwolves (19-45), and New York Knicks (21-45) have effectively ended.
Under the format, the remaining 22 teams (13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference) will each play eight regular-season games to partially make up for the lost games in March and April to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is what the current playoff picture looks like:
Eastern Conference
1) Milwaukee Bucks (53-12)
2) Toronto Raptors (46-18)
3) Boston Celtics (43-21)
4) Miami Heat (41-24)
5) Indiana Pacers (39-26)
6) Philadelphia 76ers (39-26)
7) Brooklyn Nets (30-34)
8) Orlando Magic (30-35)
Western Conference
1) Los Angeles Lakers (49-14)
2) Los Angeles Clippers (44-20)
3) Denver Nuggets (43-22)
4) Utah Jazz (41-23)
5) Oklahoma City Thunder (40-24)
6) Houston Rockets (40-24)
7) Dallas Mavericks (40-27)
8) Memphis Grizzlies (32-33)
Before the playoffs would begin, however, there is a catch.
As it sits right now, six teams currently out of playoff contention have been invited to the format. These include the New Orleans Pelicans (28-36), Phoenix Suns (26-39) Portland Trail Blazers (29-37), Sacramento Kings (28-36), San Antonio Spurs (27-36) and Washington Wizards (24-40).
In the Eastern Conference, the Wizards trail the Orlando Magic by 5.5 games for the conference's final playoff spot.
In the Western Conference, the Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Kings each trail the Memphis Grizzlies by 3.5 games for the final berth. The Spurs trail by 4 games, while the Suns trail Memphis by 6 games.
After the regular season games are concluded, a brief play-in tournament will come into play under circumstances. If the #9 seed in either conference comes within 4 games of the #8 seed, the two teams will play a tournament. The final berth will be awarded to the #8 seed if they win one game, but would be awarded to the #9 seed if they win two games.
Games will be played (with no fans in attendance) within three venues on the resort: HP Field House, Visa Athletic Center and The Arena. The HP Field House is well-known in the college basketball world, as it hosts the annual Orlando Invitational over the weekend of Thanksgiving.
As Wojnarowski had earlier reported, the season will play into October, with the latest possible game of the NBA Finals occurring on Monday, October 12.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that next season's free agency window will open on October 18, with the 2020 NBA Draft taking place on October 15. A target date for the 2020-2021 season to open training camp on November 10 and the regular season on December 1.
Charania further reported that international players will return to their markets on June 15. All players will report to markets on June 21, with coronavirus testing beginning the next day.
While it does seem like a long time (nearly two more months) before resuming play, especially given that countries around the world will begin resuming sports in the next few weeks, I applaud the league for developing a solid return plan.
Even further, I think it is especially noteworthy that the prolonged end to the 2019-2020 season will not impact the 2020-2021 season, as the season's beginning will only be delayed by about a month.
This will be an interesting development to follow over the next few weeks. I look forward to the announcement of the game schedule.
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