The NBA regular season return date remains questionable. The officials have been drawing up plans to see the season out and create a year of exciting sports for fans. However, it looks like they won’t be able to join their favorite team courtside, at least to begin with.
This year's NBA is shaping up to be a year of trial and error with hopefully not much error. The proposed plans could shape the game's future as we know it.
What Are the Latest Plans for Resuming the Season?
For NBA officials, fear looms as many states remain in lockdown, and the postponement of sports continues, with no solid end date in sight. However, they are not giving up hopes of finishing the regular season just yet.
As touched upon last week, the end of the season and the playoffs are looking more likely to be played in private, in neutral territory, and under quarantine conditions. They plan to do this by all teams convening under one hotel roof and at one sports centre.
What Will the End of the Season Look Like?
The NBA has set a target for July to be the month that things get back to some normality. They have begun planning accordingly to reach the 70-game quota and regain a portion of lost revenue along the way.
Let's take a closer look at how this plan may pan out.
At the beginning of July, each team in the lottery will match up against another in their retrospective conference. By doing this, the majority of teams will hit the needed 70 games mark. This will give teams in playoff contention a chance to close the gap for 9th and 10th place.
On the opposite side of the playoffs rankings, the NBA is proposing to trial a different approach. Every team that holds a playoff spot will be seeded up to 16, ready for a single-elimination tournament to take place.
Every win will be tallied for playoff seeding purposes, and the winning team will win a cash prize.
Looking Forward to the Western Conference Title
Major sportsbooks like William Hill US have kept their books open for NBA playoff betting. The much-anticipated rivalry matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers after they both landed prize athletes during the offseason, is sure to cause a stir when the NBA hits the courts again.
Both teams are at the top of the conference board, and their matchup seems inevitable, especially with the newly proposed elimination games.
The Clippers hold +150 odds over the Lakers +120, according to William Hill. Poor San Antonio Spurs sit with +50000 and are being dubbed the team to avoid if you like to place a wager.
To Be Continued
Stay tuned as the news will be coming thick and fast the closer we come to the decision-making deadlines. We'll be bringing you all the latest
NBA news and predictions
amid the COVID-19 outbreak as we eagerly await the end of this unprecedented postponement.