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levon wrote:I don't understand how the "no asterisks" argument works here. If any rotation players gets this disease and god willing is tested and isolated before it spreads, that team will be down a rotation player. What if a star goes down in a league where stars are everything? You have THAT in addition to injuries that can produce super unlikely upsets.

I'm excited for more basketball but let's call a spade a spade. Fans are going to be contesting the results of this championship for a long while, especially if a team outside the top 4 wins.

I think we've long passed the point where we're hoping for or assuming normalcy, the whole world has been turned upside down. The NBA is just hoping to be able to play games and have a playoffs for fans, players, etc. At the very least it will keep everyone involved employed.

Asterik or not, if it can be done safely then I 100% think they should do it. We can discuss the merits of the championship later.

The only issue I see with this is that if it starts to go downhill, it’s a bad PR look for Disney which I doubt they’d want. That being said, I think they should go ahead and do it once it’s safe anyways. It’s probably worth the PR risk given how well the fights in Jacksonville went and the procedures they’d have in place for the NBA.

There is a good chance that somebody will test positive, they probably won't even show symptoms like I believe the UFC fighter Jacare did. There just have to be an acceptance that you might lose some guys to positive tests and to mitigate it before allowing it to spread to teammates or opponents.

I am so desperate for NBA basketball tho, lets do thissssssssssssssssssss

I'm sorry but I don't think you can restart the NBA playoffs unless you're willing to allow players to play while positive. Not saying it's right to let them play while positive, but I don't see another scenario that's fair. The championship would have the world's biggest asterisk next to it if a team's superstar had to sit out a round, especially if they were asymptomatic. Could you imagine a Clippers/Lakers series where LeBron or Kawhi is perfectly healthy but has to sit out because they test positive? Or what happens if half a team tests positive, do they have to forfeit?

thebigbird wrote:I'm sorry but I don't think you can restart the NBA playoffs unless you're willing to allow players to play while positive. Not saying it's right to let them play while positive, but I don't see another scenario that's fair. The championship would have the world's biggest asterisk next to it if a team's superstar had to sit out a round, especially if they were asymptomatic. Could you imagine a Clippers/Lakers series where LeBron or Kawhi is perfectly healthy but has to sit out because they test positive? Or what happens if half a team tests positive, do they have to forfeit?

Is there a giant asterisk next to Toronto's championship because KD's Achilles snapped? Guys testing positive just has to be treated like any other injury.

thebigbird wrote:I'm sorry but I don't think you can restart the NBA playoffs unless you're willing to allow players to play while positive. Not saying it's right to let them play while positive, but I don't see another scenario that's fair. The championship would have the world's biggest asterisk next to it if a team's superstar had to sit out a round, especially if they were asymptomatic. Could you imagine a Clippers/Lakers series where LeBron or Kawhi is perfectly healthy but has to sit out because they test positive? Or what happens if half a team tests positive, do they have to forfeit?

It makes no difference whether a player is asymptomatic or not, it will suck regardless for the team that loses that player. Because they are contagious in the same way, which is the whole point of isolating infected players. We've already lost a big chunk of the season, that alone will lead to debates later about 2019/2020.

Yes, the entire playoffs will sort of have the feel of an exhibition season. But this is still 1000% worth doing (assuming it's done safely), simply for the sake of everyone who loves basketball- players, staff, team employees, and fans.

bisme37 wrote:Shout out to Keith Smith aka Smitty731. I believe he was the first one to suggest Orlando/Disney World as the best place to finish the season and shared his thoughts here and on other sites over a month ago.

Yeah I remember him suggesting that as well. Hopefully the local government in Orlando has competent people in charge unlike the state level.

madmaxmedia wrote:

levon wrote:I don't understand how the "no asterisks" argument works here. If any rotation players gets this disease and god willing is tested and isolated before it spreads, that team will be down a rotation player. What if a star goes down in a league where stars are everything? You have THAT in addition to injuries that can produce super unlikely upsets.

I'm excited for more basketball but let's call a spade a spade. Fans are going to be contesting the results of this championship for a long while, especially if a team outside the top 4 wins.

I think we've long passed the point where we're hoping for or assuming normalcy, the whole world has been turned upside down. The NBA is just hoping to be able to play games and have a playoffs for fans, players, etc. At the very least it will keep everyone involved employed.

Asterik or not, if it can be done safely then I 100% think they should do it. We can discuss the merits of the championship later.

For sure. I've just been hearing on a number of podcasts (and here) how there are NO ASTERISKS, which is a weirdly harsh view to espouse. Like why should we have 20 podcasts dedicated to historical hypotheticals but not be able to apply subtlety to the merits of crowning a champion in Disneyland in the middle of a pandemic, while also still playing out that season?

I also hear the "you could apply an asterisk to every championship" thing but nobody has actually done the legwork of proving that you could make a reasonable argument that every champion was a fluke. Hell, it's quite the opposite-- NBA champs have historically been predictable. There are very few flukes and that's a criticism of the NBA playoff structure.

levon wrote:

madmaxmedia wrote:

levon wrote:I don't understand how the "no asterisks" argument works here. If any rotation players gets this disease and god willing is tested and isolated before it spreads, that team will be down a rotation player. What if a star goes down in a league where stars are everything? You have THAT in addition to injuries that can produce super unlikely upsets.

I'm excited for more basketball but let's call a spade a spade. Fans are going to be contesting the results of this championship for a long while, especially if a team outside the top 4 wins.

I think we've long passed the point where we're hoping for or assuming normalcy, the whole world has been turned upside down. The NBA is just hoping to be able to play games and have a playoffs for fans, players, etc. At the very least it will keep everyone involved employed.

Asterik or not, if it can be done safely then I 100% think they should do it. We can discuss the merits of the championship later.

For sure. I've just been hearing on a number of podcasts (and here) how there are NO ASTERISKS, which is a weirdly harsh view to espouse. Like why should we have 20 podcasts dedicated to historical hypotheticals but not be able to apply subtlety to the merits of crowning a champion in Disneyland in the middle of a pandemic, while also still playing out that season?

I also hear the "you could apply an asterisk to every championship" thing but nobody has actually done the legwork of proving that you could make a reasonable argument that every champion was a fluke. Hell, it's quite the opposite-- NBA champs have historically been predictable. There are very few flukes and that's a criticism of the NBA playoff structure.

I agree, we don't need to overcorrect for this. I mean basically every facet of life in 2020 will have a HUGE ASTERIK attached to it. I mean I will consider the champion to be legitimate under the circumstances, but obviously the circumstances will have an effect on however the NBA resumes the season. And that's okay too.

Yeah, I don't get this star/rotational player sitting out because he is positive. What's the difference between that and a star/rotational player sitting out because of an injury?

EDIT : AND i don't mean injury != virus, I meant the principle of it all when "it sucks" that my team has " insert player name " to sit out because he was injured with "it suck" that my team has "insert player name "top sit out because he was tested positive.

JayMKE wrote:

thebigbird wrote:I'm sorry but I don't think you can restart the NBA playoffs unless you're willing to allow players to play while positive. Not saying it's right to let them play while positive, but I don't see another scenario that's fair. The championship would have the world's biggest asterisk next to it if a team's superstar had to sit out a round, especially if they were asymptomatic. Could you imagine a Clippers/Lakers series where LeBron or Kawhi is perfectly healthy but has to sit out because they test positive? Or what happens if half a team tests positive, do they have to forfeit?

Is there a giant asterisk next to Toronto's championship because KD's Achilles snapped? Guys testing positive just has to be treated like any other injury.

Theres gonna be a huge asterisk regardless of positive tests because theres no fans. No home court advantages. How would some teams and players fare with loud arenas? Thats why most people get nervous. Its not normal nba basketball. Its basically 5 on 5 pickup games.Theres an asterisk regardless. But at the same time i think we all wanna aee some basketball.

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JayMKE wrote:

thebigbird wrote:I'm sorry but I don't think you can restart the NBA playoffs unless you're willing to allow players to play while positive. Not saying it's right to let them play while positive, but I don't see another scenario that's fair. The championship would have the world's biggest asterisk next to it if a team's superstar had to sit out a round, especially if they were asymptomatic. Could you imagine a Clippers/Lakers series where LeBron or Kawhi is perfectly healthy but has to sit out because they test positive? Or what happens if half a team tests positive, do they have to forfeit?

Is there a giant asterisk next to Toronto's championship because KD's Achilles snapped? Guys testing positive just has to be treated like any other injury.

It's not at all like an Achilles injury or any other injury. Players fight through colds/flus all the time. In this case, the player might not even have any symptoms. They could be perfectly healthy but prohibited from playing because of a virus they had no control over contracting. It's not even remotely similar to a player physically being unable to play because of injury.

RookieStar wrote:Yeah, I don't get this star/rotational player sitting out because he is positive. What's the difference between that and a star/rotational player sitting out because of an injury?

Contagious disease is different than physical basketball injuries. To limit the spread, you're going to have to stay farther apart from your teammates and not do a lot of the team-building rituals. Further, you'll know that your teammate just contracted this potentially fatal disease for which he has no immunity (I know I know, they're conditioned athletes, but young and healthy people die too). How does that affect your ability to play basketball, especially in a fan-less arena?

Further, basketball injuries are part of basketball. Teams rally around it when it happens. They suck, but they're within the realm of possibilities and even eventualities the more basketball you play. Contagions aren't.

Sure, at the end of the day both will result in that player being unavailable to play in the game. But there's way more that goes into the results of the game than just game day.

levon wrote:I don't understand how the "no asterisks" argument works here. If any rotation players gets this disease and god willing is tested and isolated before it spreads, that team will be down a rotation player. What if a star goes down in a league where stars are everything? You have THAT in addition to injuries that can produce super unlikely upsets.

I'm excited for more basketball but let's call a spade a spade. Fans are going to be contesting the results of this championship for a long while, especially if a team outside the top 4 wins.

But say there are no huge corona cases and the finals are normal, why would there be an asterik?

nzahir wrote:

levon wrote:I don't understand how the "no asterisks" argument works here. If any rotation players gets this disease and god willing is tested and isolated before it spreads, that team will be down a rotation player. What if a star goes down in a league where stars are everything? You have THAT in addition to injuries that can produce super unlikely upsets.

I'm excited for more basketball but let's call a spade a spade. Fans are going to be contesting the results of this championship for a long while, especially if a team outside the top 4 wins.

But say there are no huge corona cases and the finals are normal, why would there be an asterik?

There wouldn't be. I'm hoping for that outcome. I don't think the no-fans and the hiatus they took before the playoffs qualifies because everyone is subject to that. Unless Durant and Kyrie come back and win the East or something, like a real lame edge-of-extinction scenario on Survivor, but that looks really unlikely.

But we also don't know the format. Best of 3 would be flukey as hell.

levon wrote:I don't understand how the "no asterisks" argument works here. If any rotation players gets this disease and god willing is tested and isolated before it spreads, that team will be down a rotation player. What if a star goes down in a league where stars are everything? You have THAT in addition to injuries that can produce super unlikely upsets.

I'm excited for more basketball but let's call a spade a spade. Fans are going to be contesting the results of this championship for a long while, especially if a team outside the top 4 wins.

Is that what everyone is looking for anyway, something dumb to argue about? If the Sixers get knocked out I'll probably be rooting for the Lakers just add that wrench into the MJ/Lebron arguments. Also an added bonus of how you factor it into comparing it to all the Celtics titles from the 60s. It's great.

The scenes when a superstar tests positive in the conference finals or the finals. How likely is it at that point, that they try to sweep it under the carpet if the player shows no symptoms?

KGtabake wrote:

Is this real? Pretty amazing if it is.

DaddyCool19 wrote:The scenes when a superstar tests positive in the conference finals or the finals. How likely is it at that point, that they try to sweep it under the carpet if the player shows no symptoms?

Oh yeah, the "team doctor" conspiracy theories are gonna be off the hook.