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We're going to Disney World -- NBA plans to reopen for an abbreviated play-in - playoffs season

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cavsfever

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Pretty wild stuff here -- there are lots of details still unaccounted for including the type and level of safety restrictions that would be put on players and their families (e.g. ability to leave the "bubble" etc.). And our Cavs and other bottom-dwellers won't be there, which is why I posted this here. I for one am looking forward to seeing basketball again in whatever way I can get it, and given the layoff we probably won't see the playoffs marred by injuries etc. which will be nice -- everyone should be pretty healthy. But what say you?



NBA approves plan to resume play July 31 with 22 teams

The National Basketball Association has approved a plan to reopen its season after suspending games due to Covid-19, the league announced.

The NBA held its board of governors’ vote on Thursday where officials moved to restart games using 22 teams in a closed environment in Orlando, Florida. The decision was made in a 29-1 vote. League commissioner Adam Silver submitted the proposal last week.

The plan calls for players to begin traveling to Orlando on July 7, and for the season to resume on July 31. Each team will play eight regular season games before entering a full four-round playoff bracket. The season will end no later than Oct. 12 and the NBA draft is scheduled for Oct. 15.

The proposal needs to be approved National Basketball Players Association, and is also contingent on an agreement with Disney to use Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando as the location for all games, practices and housing for the remainder of the season.

Amid the ongoing pandemic, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are negotiating details concerning safety guidelines.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts,” Silver said in a statement.

During an appearance on CNBC’s “Special Report: Crisis in America” Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and Avenue Capital co-founder Marc Lasry said he supports the plan, which he said would add one extra Eastern Conference team and five from the West. The six clubs will compete for one postseason slot. The top eight teams from each conference as of the time when the season was suspended will also be included.

“I think it should be great,” Lasry said.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo also s
aid he supports a return “as long as it’s safe for me and my family. I think the NBA will do the right thing to prioritize our safety and our health.”

The NBA joins the National Hockey League in approving a plan to restart games. On May 26, the NHL announced it would resume games via a 24-team postseason tournament in two hub cities.

The NBA suspended games on March 11, becoming the the first U.S. pro sports league to do so.
 
I'm interested in the rest vs. rust factor and how each contender will be impacted by it. This could either bolster older or top heavy rosters like the Lakers (older) and Toronto (top-heavy)... or it could lead to some crazy upsets if lower seeds get hot and some higher seeds have trouble rekindling their chemistry and timing. Should make for some great theater either way.

(probably unpopular) Prediction: Playoff Lebron + 4 months of rest + healthy and rested AD = Lakers win it all.
 
Yes this seems like a really major advantage for the contender that features a 35 year old with more career minutes than any superstar ever plus an extremely fragile younger superstar and very little depth beyond that. Between missing the playoffs last year and Coronavirus madness this year Lebron has gotten an incredible amount of rest, and if the Lakers were smart they managed to treat AD’s shoulder during the layoff.
 
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I think there's zero chance this works out. What happens when a superstar becomes infected and can't play? They could be completely healthy with no symptoms but have to sit out an entire series. If a whole team becomes infected do they forfeit? They should've just canceled the season and started the new one in October.
 
I think there's zero chance this works out. What happens when a superstar becomes infected and can't play? They could be completely healthy with no symptoms but have to sit out an entire series. If a whole team becomes infected do they forfeit? They should've just canceled the season and started the new one in October.
better. Let a player PRETEND they tested positive, so the opposing team doesnt prepare. Then you hit him with the Willis Reed.

or maybe players that have tested positive can play. but everytime they touch the ball, the ball has to get sanitized. Also no one can come within 6 feet of that player.

orrrrrr

we have a "COVID" playoff as well. As players test positive they go to another playoff bracket where only players that have tested positive can play. Initially it starts as 3v3 half court games, and eventually as more players test positive it becomes full court.
 
I think there's zero chance this works out. What happens when a superstar becomes infected and can't play? They could be completely healthy with no symptoms but have to sit out an entire series. If a whole team becomes infected do they forfeit? They should've just canceled the season and started the new one in October.
Quit living in fear, the handful of players, 10, maybe, who tested positive were completely fine. Even Patrick Ewing was out in days.
You have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning and dying than dying from Rona. That’s why EVERYTHING is starting to open again.
 
Quit living in fear, the handful of players, 10, maybe, who tested positive were completely fine. Even Patrick Ewing was out in days.
You have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning and dying than dying from Rona. That’s why EVERYTHING is starting to open again.
I'm not living in fear. You know how I feel about the coronavirus. But regardless of how I feel, the league will force any player who tests positive to quarantine for 7-14 days. That's the length of a playoff series. The chances of (1) keeping the coronavirus out of the complex and (2) keeping it from infecting any superstars is incredibly small. Imagine an NBA finals where Lebron and Giannis both test positive. Or even worse, an NBA finals where LeBron doesn't test positive and giannis does. That series would have the biggest asterisk of all time. The players are low risk, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the likely problems.
 
I'm not living in fear. You know how I feel about the coronavirus. But regardless of how I feel, the league will force any player who tests positive to quarantine for 7-14 days. That's the length of a playoff series. The chances of (1) keeping the coronavirus out of the complex and (2) keeping it from infecting any superstars is incredibly small. Imagine an NBA finals where Lebron and Giannis both test positive. Or even worse, an NBA finals where LeBron doesn't test positive and giannis does. That series would have the biggest asterisk of all time. The players are low risk, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the likely problems.
I personally think it would be more interesting. Yes, the NBA is all about the stars, but this entire year has an asterisks next to it. Mya actually give a team who has no real chance, like Denver or Indiana a shot.
Also, I would be shocked if they didn’t cancel if a lot of people got infected.
 
There should be no asterisk. I don't see how this situation is that much different than the risk of injury. Everyone is playing under the same circumstances/chances with regards to getting infected and having to sit out... Just like everyone plays with the chance of getting injured or getting the flu, etc to the point of not being able to play.

This just adds more intrigue, to me, and I think the eventual champion should be looked at as the team who successfully navigated this unprecedented situation and became a champion, regardless of whether they benefitted from these circumstances. Lets face it: pretty much every previous champion had to have a combination of luck and skill. This year will be no different.
 
There should be no asterisk. I don't see how this situation is that much different than the risk of injury. Everyone is playing under the same circumstances/chances with regards to getting infected and having to sit out... Just like everyone plays with the chance of getting injured or getting the flu, etc to the point of not being able to play.

This just adds more intrigue, to me, and I think the eventual champion should be looked at as the team who successfully navigated this unprecedented situation and became a champion, regardless of whether they benefitted from these circumstances. Lets face it: pretty much every previous champion had to have a combination of luck and skill. This year will be no different.
Players don't play when they're injured because they can't physically go. And guys play through injuries/flus all the time. A player could be completely healthy or have very mild symptoms but be forced to sit out because they test positive. It's much different from an injury. Any series that is altered by a healthy player being forced to sit out is going to have an asterisk next to it.

I guarantee you that if the Lakers win because Kawhi or Giannis (or both) are forced to sit out, plenty of people will get on here and say that the ring doesn't really count.
 
Players don't play when they're injured because they can't physically go. And guys play through injuries/flus all the time. A player could be completely healthy or have very mild symptoms but be forced to sit out because they test positive. It's much different from an injury. Any series that is altered by a healthy player being forced to sit out is going to have an asterisk next to it.

I guarantee you that if the Lakers win because Kawhi or Giannis (or both) are forced to sit out, plenty of people will get on here and say that the ring doesn't really count.
They will say that regardless of someone gets sick or not.
 
Windy was saying that the players will not be able to have wives of GF's for 7 weeks. I wonder how the players are going to handle that. I am guessing a prostitution bubble scandal pops up.

You can get 3 people in the bubble, but it will be after the first round when 8 teams go home.
 
Windy was saying that the players will not be able to have wives of GF's for 7 weeks. I wonder how the players are going to handle that. I am guessing a prostitution bubble scandal pops up.

You can get 3 people in the bubble, but it will be after the first round when 8 teams go home.
Wow and they get paid too,,sounds like a great deal. I would pay someone to take mine for 7 weeks.... :chuckle: :chuckle: :beguiled:
 
Windy was saying that the players will not be able to have wives of GF's for 7 weeks. I wonder how the players are going to handle that. I am guessing a prostitution bubble scandal pops up.

You can get 3 people in the bubble, but it will be after the first round when 8 teams go home.

I thought the single hotel was too small and the timeline was too stretched out when they released the details of the bubble.

I thought Disney World made sense when it was closed down because you could give the NBA players and their families the run of the place with the best hotel suites.

Living out of a hotel room for that long and without the entertainment is going to be hard for players and staff. They need to condense the timeline and find more housing for everyone.

There is no good answer to satisfy everyone in this situation. The contenders won't want to chance losing any of their players to the virus for any amount of time. The non-contenders won't be happy living for 2 months in the bubble and might sneak out.
 

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