There is finally some good news in the NBA world: the league is pursuing a return to play sometime in July. However, clarity on what exactly the return will look like or how many teams will return is still lacking. One thing is certain, the Philadelphia 76ers will definitely be back when the NBA returns.
It has been over two months since the NBA season was abruptly suspended due to Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test. Yet, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel, even if we cannot make out what the light is. Earlier this week the NHL announced their plan to conclude its season and the two main factors were cancelling all remaining regular season games and expanding the playoff field from 16 to 24.
I believe the NBA’s best course of action would be to adopt one of the guidelines set by the NHL and that is to cancel the remaining regular season games. Every NBA team has played more than 75 percent of its regular season games and the top eight positions in each conference are fairly solidified. The Washington Wizards are 5.5 games back in ninth place in the East and the Portland Trail Blazers are 3.5 games back in ninth in the West.
The pushback for advancing straight to playoff games is twofold. The first being that players are not in game-ready shape, which is completely reasonable. A possible solution could be to lengthen team training camps upon return and have scrimmages among the remaining 16 teams prior to commencing the playoffs. The second pushback is in order for the NBA to meet requirements for many local TV contracts, the league needs to get many teams to have played 72 regular season games.
This latter reason is why you should not lose hope in your favorite team potentially making a newly constructed postseason. If the NBA adopts the second guideline of the NHL return, an expanded playoff field could allow for additional teams to make the postseason, most notably, Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans.
As can be deduced, even as player safety is being pushed as a primary motivation, it always comes down to money. Fulfilling TV contracts and adding teams for more games to be broadcast is all in efforts to recollect even just a sliver of the massive monetary losses the league and teams have incurred during this pandemic.
Even understanding the league mindset here, having more teams, and thus more players, in a bubble community, naturally increases the potential level of exposure to the virus. Does the league really want to risk players on any team, but more specifically, LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid (big draw players) having additional exposure risk to play seemingly pointless regular season games?
I want the NBA to return as much as everyone else, but player safety must truly be the key focus and not a secondary focus masking the league and owners’ monetary desires. Bringing all 30 NBA teams back is an unnecessary risk and does not make sense at this point in time. More clarity around this issue is expected from the league in the next few days.
One thing we will not have clarity on for a while, though, is how a neutral site will affect the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers were all but unbeatable in South Philly this season, but played almost unrecognizably on the road. Without the home fans at the Wells Fargo Center, and also without the road fans and travel to different cities, what will this team look like? Your guess is as good as mine.