Why do people want to cancel rest of the season?

[thebigbird]

Because they want Lakers and Lebron to waste 1 year of their title window.

Eh I want Lebron to ring another ring more than anything and I still don't want the season to start back up. Too many variables and I don't see any reality where the plan actually works. All it takes is one superstar to test positive to make the playoffs illegitimate.

[ProcessDoctor]

The NBA resuming the season is honestly a very sad thing. There are good and bad American stereotypes from around the world. This will fall into the 'bad' category. Putting lives at risk for the purpose of money and entertainment. Using medical resources that could help a community, but are instead being used to protect millionaires playing a game. I'm even more ashamed at the number of NBA players who came from less privileged communities that are basically saying "Well, sucks to suck. I want to play basketball."

[RoLo]

Because believe it or not there are people that are not beholden to sports. it speaks to yourself if you if u cant rationalize the type of event were going through. that some people are sports starved and are bored so they need their gladiators back in the arena. the question is why even bother with this season. the staff are already paid and taken care of. dont even talk to me about players losing pay. the financial losses are overblown compared with them starting next season in December. its just optics of crowning champions and the richer getting richer. no matter who wins anyways, it will be the biggest asterisk championship of all time. most shouldnt't even count it. a 4 month break in the middle of teh season. thats not a season. thats 2 seasons.

[limbo]

There's a 100% chance that there will always be a risk of catching COVID or a similar virus. And then, keep in mind, there's probably less than 1% chance a healthy person will die from it.

Also, there's a 100% chance that there will always be a risk of getting hurt or dying every single moment on planet earth. Your heart could simply stop beating at any moment. Welcome to life. It's always been this way.

To try to reduce risk to 0 is absurd and unprecedented.

Not exactly... but that's besides the point. The NBA using 500 people to try and finish off a season in a closed out park causes way less risk to players or anyone than is regularly present routinely by simply living life... If you're against the NBA coming back because of safety reasons you're an idiot. What safety reasons? What about 99% of people living life freely outside every day? Is that not a far greater risk to spreading the disease and killing people than a couple of people playing a basketball game in a secluded camp and empty arena nobody is using right now?

The quarantine is already over... The World has decided it can't shut down for more than 2 months without severe repercussions. And when the majority of things are back up and running and people's freedom of movement isn't restricted anymore, you've already accepted whatever risk is coming... Having the NBA or not doesn't matter anymore. Ingles is far more likely to contract COVID outside a carefully quarantined, regulated and tested environment (Disney Land) than what he would be routinely exposed otherwise in the uncontrolled outside World that is operating as normal right now... unless he intends to barricade himself in his house...

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Because they want Lakers and Lebron to waste 1 year of their title window.

Eh I want Lebron to ring another ring more than anything and I still don't want the season to start back up. Too many variables and I don't see any reality where the plan actually works. All it takes is one superstar to test positive to make the playoffs illegitimate.

Is it any different that last year when guys got injured in the finals? Though not totally within in their control, players can do a lot to protect themselves and their teammates.

[thebigbird]

Because they want Lakers and Lebron to waste 1 year of their title window.

Eh I want Lebron to ring another ring more than anything and I still don't want the season to start back up. Too many variables and I don't see any reality where the plan actually works. All it takes is one superstar to test positive to make the playoffs illegitimate.

Is it any different that last year when guys got injured in the finals? Though not totally within in their control, players can do a lot to protect themselves and their teammates.

Completely different. When a guy can't play because he's injured, he physically can't go. Injuries are part of the game. Here, though, we're talking about a virus. A player could be completely symptom free, perfectly healthy, but prevented from playing because of a positive test. If the Lakers and Bucks match up in the finals, and a perfectly healthy Giannis has to miss the series because he tests positive, how many non-LeBron fans would see that series as legitimate?

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Because believe it or not there are people that are not beholden to sports. it speaks to yourself if you if u cant rationalize the type of event were going through. that some people are sports starved and are bored so they need their gladiators back in the arena. the question is why even bother with this season. the staff are already paid and taken care of. dont even talk to me about players losing pay. the financial losses are overblown compared with them starting next season in December. its just optics of crowning champions and the richer getting richer. no matter who wins anyways, it will be the biggest asterisk championship of all time. most shouldnt't even count it. a 4 month break in the middle of teh season. thats not a season. thats 2 seasons.

They won't start 20-21 season until December whether they have this tournament or not. They need to do draft, FA, training camp and buy time to see if fans are allowed back or not.

Why bother with this season? They would literally lose BILLIONS if they don't play this tourney. I'm not sure how this can be ignored. Lebron and Curry (Since they were prepaid) would literally have to write checks in the hundreds of thousands to the NBA if they cancel the season. One player said he thinks 1/4 of players live paycheck to paycheck. Most will want to play if it comes down to getting paid or not getting paid.

If it's 2 seasons, does Giannis get 2 rings?

[Side beard]

Health > meaningless fan entertainment

yes the lockdown destroyed my mental health

I dunno if there was anything to destroy in first place.

If you got mental issues watching sport, playing video games or any other short term entertainment will not help. You need to seek help.

[Nuntius]

I see that the GB has somehow managed to turn even this situation into some kind of mass conspiracy against LeBron and the Lakers by fans of "loser teams". Good job, GB

Anyway, back to the original question. Here's why I believe that this season should be canceled (or, at least, shouldn't restart anytime soon):

1) I don't believe that the current epidemiological data in the US supports it. Active cases in the US are still on the rise. Yes, I realize that increased testing plays a role in the active cases being on the rise but I simply don't believe that a country should open up that much while the cases are still on the rise. The US is also close to making the top 10 in deaths per 1 million. They are #12 right now at 294 deaths per 1 million (they were #16 around a month or a month and a half ago).

Someone mentioned Germany in the previous page but that comparison definitely doesn't favor the US. Germany has shown a steady decrease in active cases for more than a month now. Germany's highest total of active cases occurred back in April 6 (around 72k cases) then it started falling, had one last minor increase in April 10 and it has been steadily going down ever since. Is the US in a similar timeline? No, not even close. Late March to early April is when the US experienced its first major spikes (conversely, Germany started spiking in early March to mid March) and the number of active cases has been going up ever since (with the exception of a two-day reprieve in May 11 and May 12).

When you look at deaths per 1 million, you arrive to a similar conclusion. Germany is currently at 100 deaths per 1 million. So, even when you account for the massive difference in population, the US still has 3 times more deaths than Germany does.

So, no, based on all of that, I cannot support the US opening up at a scale similar to what Germany is doing.

2) Since we're in the context of re-opening sports and we're also talking about Germany, let's take a look at the Bundesliga. It resumed play last weekend. 9 games were played over May 16 and May 17. In those 9 games, 12 injuries were recorded. And, mind you, the Bundesliga did hold a kind of pre-season before resuming activities. If the NBA decides to go forth with resuming the seasons then an increase in injuries is all but guaranteed (and let's not even talk about the possibility of a player contracting the virus and then spreading it).

3) Last but not least, basketball is not the end all be all. I love basketball but it simply isn't a vital activity. ProcessDoctor made a darn good point in page 3. We should be thinking of COVID-19 as a population risk, not just an individual risk. The potential population risk of restarting the NBA (or any other kind of sport or mass entertainment activity) in the US (I'm obviously talking about the US here) outweighs the potential benefits. I can see why shops and businesses are opening back up (I still think it's too early for most states, mind you). People living paycheck to paycheck need to make enough money to survive (obviously, they shouldn't have to risk themselves to do that, the state should be able to take care of them for the time being but I digress). The NBA, though? Living paycheck to paycheck isn't a concern for the players, the coaches or the team owners and according to everything we've read, most teams have ensured that their staffers (training staff, stadium staff etc.) are being paid normally so this isn't a concern for them either.

All in all, yes, it would be pretty fun if the NBA restarted and I'd definitely watch games, don't get me wrong, but I simply don't believe that it's worth it. Not right now, at least. Come back to me in a couple of months if things are finally looking better.

PS: And in case the league does restart, can we please not do it in Florida? Florida's death per 1 million are at 102 right now (a tad higher than Germany) and that's despite the fact that Florida, unlike most other US states and contrary to the CDC guidelines, doesn't include probable deaths in its Covid-19 death count. If the NBA decides that they must absolutely restart as soon as possible then they should choose a safe state like Utah, Wyoming or Montana (all 3 states are below 30 deaths per 1 million which is a pretty good number considering the fact that the world average is at 43.4).

PS II: As always, the numbers above are based on world of meters -> https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[SNPA]

Empty gyms, nuetral locations, a 3 month mid-season break, and an arbitrary playoff seeding is not NBA basketball.

How is it an arbitrary playoff seeding they will have played 70 games which is over 85% of the regular(regular season). Yeah its not a typical season but every team has to deal with the same conditions. Literally nothing you said is a good reason.

It is not a fair deal for several teams. Those on the playoff bubble. For example the Kings were getting better and were within striking distance, they also have played a harder strength of schedule than the Grizz to date so the Grizz were looking at a harder schedule to close the season. If you call it at 70 games the Grizz get rewarded and the Kings shafted.

[Bornstellar]

My first observation is that many people here aren't old enough to remember the '99 season.

The 99 season was played continuously once is started. It didn't start and then get held up for months in the middle of the season due to the lockout. Not even remotely comparable situations

[LipSkinMatter]

People think half the NBA is gonna drop dead if they have games. Lol

[KIRAG]

How lucky is GSW! The one season they are bad due to injuries and the pandemic happened

[Raps in 4]

Because they want Lakers and Lebron to waste 1 year of their title window.

This is it for probably 95% of people.

I personally hate the Lakers and Lebron, but I still want the season to conclude. If Lebron wins the title, so be it (but he won't).

[Mind_Odyssey]

Also, there's a 100% chance that there will always be a risk of getting hurt or dying every single moment on planet earth. Your heart could simply stop beating at any moment. Welcome to life. It's always been this way.

To try to reduce risk to 0 is absurd and unprecedented.

I hate this logic.

Then why make medicine? People are just gonna get sick and die anyways.

Why have police? People are just gonna commit crimes anyways.

[PharmD]

We'd be getting pre-season level basketball played weirdly in silence. Players would not be in shape to play normal amount of minutes. Possible injuries from going from the couch to playoff-level importance (see Durant last year). There's the possibility of players testing positive and needing to be quarantined. We're gonna call whoever comes out of this mess the NBA champion?

[MikeM]

People want to pretend like their basketball connoisseurs or something but the second the NBA comes back they'd throw their grandma in a covid volcano to watch Giannis vs. Lebron.

Don't give me this BS about 3 months to prepare, 20K fans in the stands, etc. You could hand them the ball tomorrow and have an insanely watchable product. They've been playing ball their whole lives!

[Senor Chang]

Fans of loser teams want the season the be cancelled. Winners want it to resume. That's why.

If the season was cancelled then that brings up the conversation of opening up the lottery to all teams. I doubt fans of losing teams want to see that. In fact as a fan of a losing team i think continuing the season might see teams like the Warriors start to win a couple more games if Curry isn't still tanking the season.

[Mogspan]

The NBA resuming the season is honestly a very sad thing. There are good and bad American stereotypes from around the world. This will fall into the 'bad' category. Putting lives at risk for the purpose of money and entertainment. Using medical resources that could help a community, but are instead being used to protect millionaires playing a game. I'm even more ashamed at the number of NBA players who came from less privileged communities that are basically saying "Well, sucks to suck. I want to play basketball."

You could also say it's sad that someone would use money to get guacamole on their burrito when they could have bought malaria nets instead. You and everyone else prioritizes comfort at the opportunity cost of saving others' lives. I think a safe return is feasible, and the potential societal morale boost in sports resuming could outweigh the drawbacks of several elite athletes getting the sniffles.

[NPZ]

Fans of loser teams want the season the be cancelled. Winners want it to resume. That's why.

Usually breaks down that way no matter how much either side may deny it.