Writer: Jeremy Wright
The NBA Player's Association approved the NBA's 22-team restart to the regular season and playoffs on Tuesday. Since the NBA and the NBPA came together so quickly compared to the other major professional leagues, I think the NBA deserves a lot of credit for avoiding a big saga like the one we saw with the MLB.
NBA teams reported to their respective facilities on June 22nd, and Head Coaches could begin working with players on June 23rd. Wednesday was supposed to be the deadline for players to decide whether or not they would participate, but you can expect more players to make decisions after the 'soft deadline' as we get further into the timeline. The 22 teams still competing will head to their 'bubble' on July 7th at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. Between July 9th and July 29th teams will begin a training camp period, and will play three scrimmages leading up to the regular season restart where each team will play eight games to determine final playoff seeding.
I believe the NBA took their time in designing the situation for the 'bubble'. In reality, Covid-19 is unprecedented, and no one knows everything, so in all likelihood, players will get coronavirus. It's almost inevitable according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. The NBA is focused on daily testing that will alert team staff if any player tests positive, so they can treat the player as safely as possible without spreading the disease. The NBA has proposed a smart ring that the players will wear that will track their body temperatures and any potential symptoms of coronavirus. Many doctors and reporters feel the NBA has the right idea of getting back to play by using the correct precautions pertaining to halting the spread of the virus.
This is a sacrifice for players, for many reasons. They will be isolated from their families for three months in a 'bubble', and there are a lot of unknowns still about the coronavirus. However, it looks like the NBA is gaining the player's and organizations’ trust on treating and preventing a Covid-19 outbreak. Much credit to Kyrie Irving, Avery Bradley and Dwight Howard for bringing the idea to sit out the rest of the season to raise awareness and fight social injustice in America, but I feel that finishing the season could bring people together, especially after the long hiatus of no sports since March.
In terms of predictions for the rest of the season, I have the Memphis Grizzlies tabbing the 8th seed in the playoffs over the Trail Blazers, and Pelicans in the west. Finally, the Magic will be maintaining the 8th seed in the east. The Grizzlies hold a 3.5 game lead over the 9th seed Blazers, and I feel their up and coming youth in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson and their supporting cast will get them into the playoffs, even in the play-in situation.
If the difference between the teams contending for the 8th seed is less than four games, there will be a play-in tournament among the teams vying for the final playoff spot in the conference. The teams will play each other for the playoff spot. Many insiders are expecting a three-team play-in situation for the last playoff spot in the west featuring the Grizzlies, Blazers and Pelicans. I am still taking the Grizz. Also, I don't know who needs to hear this, but Ja Morant is Rookie of the Year, as the Grizzlies were picked to finish last in the West. Now here they are contending for a playoff spot with eight games left.
The playoffs will feature the top eight teams for both conferences and a traditional conference playoff format. I hate that we won't be able to see the Staples Center energy for a Lakers and Clippers playoff series which is my western conference finals matchup prediction. I have the Lakers winning the series in seven games to advance to the finals. In the east I am feeling a Bucks and Celtics eastern conference finals matchup, and I have the bucks winning in six games to head to the finals. In the finals, I'm going to take the Lakers in six games over the Bucks to give the purple and gold championship #17.
There is still a lot of time between now and July 30th, but I definitely feel we are on the right track to get the ball rolling on an NBA restart.