It now seems like a formality.
The NBA, barring a last-minute change of course, is expecting to return by the end of July after play was postponed on March 11 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Thursday afternoon’s board of governors vote will make the plan official. Three-fourths of the 30 teams need to approve the plan for it to pass, but the expectation is that will not be an issue. The players association would then have to ratify the plan for play to resume.
The league will propose a 22-team restart to be played at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, ESPN reported. That will involve eight more regular-season games for everyone involved, followed by a play-in for the final playoff spot in each conference if the ninth seed is fewer than four games back of the No. 8 seed. At that point, the ninth seed would have to defeat the eighth seed twice to move into the playoffs, while the eighth seed only would need to win once, according to USA Today.
Wide World of Sports has multiple courts that could allow several games to be played per day, giving the restart an NCAA Tournament feel at the outset.
Under this plan, the restart would begin July 31 and the last game of the NBA Finals would be no later than Oct. 12. The draft and free agency period would follow.
This plan will include the Nets, which had the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference at the time play was postponed, but not the Knicks, as expected, who are 12th in the East with a 21-45 record. After the top eight in the East, only the Wizards — 5 ¹/₂ games back of the eighth-seeded Magic — will be part of the picked-up season. In the Western Conference, the Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Suns, Kings and Spurs have been invited to take part.
The 30-34 Nets would need to collapse to even face the prospect of being included in a play-in. They lead the Wizards by six games. They could drop to the eighth seed, however, since they lead the Magic by just half a game in the standings. It’s far more complicated in the West, where the Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Kings all trail the eighth-seeded Grizzlies by 3 ¹/₂ games and the Spurs are four back. The Zion Williamson-led Pelicans could meet Ja Morant and the Grizzlies in a showdown between elite rookies to determine the final playoff spot.
Guidelines will allow players and coaches to eat at outdoor restaurants and golf at Disney while maintaining social distancing, ESPN reported. Additionally, there will be daily coronavirus testing at the Disney complex. The hope is that a player testing positive would not force a team to bow out. That player would be placed into quarantine and treated while teammates continue playing, assuming they don’t also test positive. Staff at the Disney resort will reportedly not enter players’ rooms and the hallways will be monitored to avoid congestion. The Athletic also reported players will not shower in the arena but rather in their hotel rooms, there will be no guests until the playoffs, inactive players will sit in the stands and bench players will be in spread-out rows.
Two other scenarios were discussed — skipping right to the playoffs with the top eight teams in each conference and having all 30 teams finish a 72-game regular season — but the 22-team plan has been considered the best way to move forward for some time. Teams can begin training camps at their facilities in July before ramping up in Orlando later in the month.
