National Basketball Association discussing playoff scenarios with hopes of returning despite coronavirus pandemic

  • by Grant Boone
  • in Sports
  • — Apr 6, 2020
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The only possibilities that seem to be out, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, is the playoff structure we're used to.

The best scenario looks like a start-up in late June / early July with the idea that the 2021-2022 season does not start before Christmas. But even that faces enormous hurdles.

Speaking on Instagram, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers suggested that the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, where the NBA Summer League was held a year ago, could provide a venue. Thousands of players and staffers would descend on Las Vegas for an event like this. Not to mention broadcasters and media. It's getting everyone together, testing them, the National Basketball Association creating a bubble in a particular location, and then playing games in a place like Vegas where you would have plenty of available hotel space and multiple stadiums... Testing would have to advance significantly in the coming months...

While he does identify Las Vegas as the potential site for a playoff, he does acknowledge that there are significant hurdles to clear before there is any sort of competition. And even with the headache of thousands of people converging into one centralized location as mentioned by Mannix, it's nearly easier to have everybody in that spot versus traveling to various cities, many of which are still under stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders.

Still, the league clearly wants to figure out a way to crown a champion this season, and Las Vegas might wind up the ideal place to do it. There would still be 16 teams to make it to the postseason although there is a chance every single series could be a best-of-three as opposed to seven. But like any other sports property, it also must weigh the potential optics of resuming play when the number of USA cases of Covid-19 continue to soar and the country's entire health care system is under unprecedented stress.

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