As more cases grow, the NBA needs to make the right call to officially end the 2020 season
The 2020 NBA season is in major trouble right now, like most sports leagues in the world right now everything has come to a stop due to the coronavirus.
On March 16, the CDC placed guidelines that eventually led to cancellation or postponement of events with crowds larger than 50 people. The NBA suspended their season officially on March 13, and extended that to the closure of all team practice and training facilities on March 19.
This puts the season in serious peril and as much as the league wants to continue on, the safest and smartest option at this point is to take an L and cancel the rest of the season. Let me explain why.
Losing a critical month in the season
Work stoppages are nothing new for the NBA. The last two major stoppages the NBA dealt with were back in 1999 and 2011, however those were labor disputes that were resolved before the final third of the season. This stoppage has now lasted from mid-March to maybe May or June at the earliest.
What does this mean for the final five weeks of the season? Will they be played as is? Is it going to be abbreviated? If it is, this now impacts division and playoff races. I’m not sure how many teams would be on board with an abbreviated season just to have a champion crowned at the end.
It will take time to get back in game shape
Everybody around the league is supposed to be practicing social distancing, so there’s no real chance to get practice time in and pick up the midseason form that abruptly stopped. What happens when play resumes this season, if it does? How much time are players and coaches going to get so they can get acclimated back onto the floor.
The “workouts” on Instagram and Twitter will be fun to see but if there isn’t proper prep time for a return, when games resume it may be very rough.
The NBA Schedule will be messed up well into 2021 and beyond
Say the NBA decides to come back around June, great idea right?
Nope, it is the absolute worst idea. With everything being at a grinding halt, that means not only games but everyday league operations are at a halt as well. However, this is what the NBA runs into if they wanted to resume the season.
-Playoffs get pushed back
-NBA Draft combine and workouts and other off-season activity gets pushed back
-Fielding a Team USA for the 2020 Olympics is now in question, if there is an Olympics.
-NBA Training Camps get shortened
If the NBA does indeed go forward with a 2020 season, you’re going to have the 2020-21 season will also have a heavy impact. Guys like LeBron James, Damian Lillard and many other superstars will more than likely be playing deep into the summer if there’s a playoffs and now what does it mean towards next season.
Is NBA commissioner Adam Silver going to shorten the 2020-21 season for a year? The league is headed towards an unprecedented decision, one that could impact the next few seasons if not handled correctly.
More coronavirus cases are popping up in the NBA
We’ve seen and known just how active the coronavirus link has been throughout the country and no league has been hit harder than the NBA. The night since Rudy Gobert became “patient zero” for the NBA, his link and connection to other teams from other franchises continues to grow.
March 18: Four Brooklyn Nets players test positive for COVID-19
March 19: The Sixers and Nuggets each both had members of the organization test positive.
March 19: A member of the Lakers and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart
Six teams, including the Jazz have been tested and with those positive tests you now have to test others who have been around them in the last two weeks or so. There could be more teams linked to these cases and with more links, you have more players needing to isolate and get healthy.
If NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, a self-aware man who clearly understands what matters and what doesn’t then the NBA is going to have to end the season in order to help shape themselves better for the future.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
