The NBA apparently wants to bring back as many of its 30 teams as possible, provided that the league moves forward with tentative plans for a resumption of league play later this summer. The spread of the novel coronavirus caused league commissioner Adam Silver to halt the 2019/20 season on March 11. But should every team return, even the 14 likely lottery squads?
The most popular proposed plan is resuming play in one or two “bubble” sites, with Walt Disney World in Orlando emerging as the current front-runner, starting around mid-July. When play was paused in March, all teams had played between 63 and 67 of the regular season’s standard 82 games.
The notion of adding an extra 14 teams’ worth of players, team personnel and loved ones to a mass population that already includes 16 teams (with approximately 35 people traveling per each team), on top of referees and a broadcast media presence, at a moment in time when the highly-contagious COVID-19 is still incurable and spreading rampantly amidst close contact feels superfluously dangerous.
With a significant majority of the NBA’s games already having been played, why not limit the “bubble” head count with just the 16 teams sporting the best records when league play stopped?
If the league is concerned about teams being rusty due to the extended time off (at least four months by the earliest possible projections), perhaps the teams present could participate in something akin to a five-game tune-up “preseason” for two weeks. That way, lottery-bound teams or teams with the faintest of hopes at a playoff berth would not be taking undue extra risk by traveling to the “bubble” cities and mingling with the other teams.
The higher the head count, the higher the hypothetical risk of a COVID-19 spread among the players, coaches, and other traveling team personnel present. In a new piece, Steve Popper of Newsday also voiced his concern that including all 30 teams in an un-paused season was an unnecessary exercise. The best way to minimize risk is to keep the pool in a potential “bubble” city as finite as possible.
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I was going to vote yes but realized that vote was just me being selfish … I am a Timberwolves fan and would love to see Towns Russell and Beasley play together ..
It’s not selfish speaking as a customer. Either you will pay for it or you won’t. The system wants your money not your stances.
Maybe the resumption could split up into the playoff and non-playoff, Vegas and Orlando. The Magic are a playoff team, so that will be Vegas. DisneyWorld with more inherent discipline can be for teams that are so dangerous that 65% of the HR vote worries about them.
The whole crowning-a-champion thing will feel like an anticlimax, like, *Okay talk to Delores then lets get out of here fast*. The thing is to get teams on TV. The real title game willbe the first one!
So YOU are their fan !!!
Would be cool to just do one tournament, March Madness style.
No it wouldn’t
You’re right pj, watching every team come back after a two month plus layoff with nothing to play for in finishing the season is much better.
I meant, there are plenty of teams none of us need to watch anymore this year.
I said no, because that allows the virus to spread more than it already is. I would love for it to be all 30(being a warriors fan, i want curry to find his footing again and start working with wiggins and the other new guys) but as i already stated it would give a pathway for the virus
They say it’s about money. That TV contracts say must play 70 gms. Considering pandemic it won’t hold in court. 4- 5 gms to round out season. Get teams in shape. I good with it. Really I think they should just call it a season. Practice for few wks. Go right into playoffs. Televise all playoff gms. Have lottery draft. Then after finals go right into draft. No summer league. Get ready for good season next yr. even if it starts late. Hopefully we have vaccine by then. Can’t have full stadiums with NO vaccine.
Forget about 2019-2020 already. Nobody cares.
Move on to preparing for 2020-2021.
People in Los Angeles care.
People in Toronto care. Prove they weren’t the one-man team. People in Milwaukee care.
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I totally agree. I badly want sports back, but I also don’t want to see whatever they try to cobble together for the rest of the season. I’d rather just take the hit, move on, and focus on next season and beyond, but that would never happen because of the money involved.
I agree as well. 2o2o is canceled. Pretending it isn’t is just folly.
@nentwigs
I do care, talk for yourself, how very dare you say I don’t care?
Nba’s value is all about roto-fantasy. So YES we need to finish pur season.
Build a court in antartica and play all the games there
I read the headline and the first thing that popped into my head was contracting teams. Then I thought about whether I would truly miss the Hornets or the Thunder. Answer, probably not.
There have been some interesting articles about mock expansion drafts. It might be interesting to hypothetically eliminate the 4 least successful franchises and have a mock dispersal draft among the remaining teams. Could be a fun read while we wait.
Yes, bring all 30 teams back for 6 games over 2 weeks.
Eastern Conference to play in Orlando and Western in Las Vegas.
Would help 2 cities and regions ecomony as well. Finals would be pushed into October. May be save enough by then to play on the teams own home courts.
Otherwise just go straight to the playoffs. Which really isn’t a bad idea.
Lottery on 4th of July and draft on the 10th. Start bringing in prospects on June 1st for workouts.
Start Summer League on the 1st of August with the same above East / West city format would still be very workable for teams.
Ok, a bit long winded.
Just Play Ball, would’ve probably been enough.
Florida has one if the worst responses to Covid. I would not want to be there as a player. Pick states with sane people in charge.
How would it help their economies if no fans are allowed in?
If you’re going to bleep up might as well go full steam ahead. What’s the worst that could happen anyway? Someone gets Covid and dies? 1 death vs the Billions to be made to finish the season. Decisions by those not facing the actual danger have been made that have caused more death for less money.
Nope. I really just want the playoffs, with a decent regular season that exists only for the purpose of being a warm up to the playoffs. The non playoff teams should be free to stay home. For some of them it might also be less expensive to stay home.
My thoughts exactly. If they can play 6 regular games then they hit 70 games and it makes TV money people happy. If not, so be it.
Everyone back on the court for training camp 2.0 on June 15th and start the playoffs on the 4th of July.
Just play ball end if story.
According to national media, then no place is safe until at least January and a vaccine anyway.
Pick your poison, stay home or get back to life.
Can corn causes cancer in China. It’s the yellow dye #5 at fault here.
Just the world of today, sad but oh so true.
Be safe and seek enjoyment.
Just start it off with the playoffs that’s what the people really want to see
I wanna finish the RS before the playoff, I usually don’t eat my pudding before I finish my main course, do you?
LMAO
I voted no because the Golden State Warriors know they’re not going to the playoffs and not only that 53% 16/30 NBA teams maybe even more teams including Raptors (unless if I’m wrong) are going to the playoff and plus Cavaliers are SUCK.
Unlike the lame Warriors fielding a GLeague team, the Cavs made improvements and actually want to go at it. Whether you want to see them is of no concern.