NBA is Officially Back (Official Thread)

[WuTang_CMB]

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[Raptorfan2012]

No to the group stage idea; as others have said, it dismisses the regular season and all the hard work that went into it. Only thing that I can think of that may make this okay is if the top 4 teams get to draft the remaining teams into their group; start with the teams that were outside of the playoffs, then the teams that were on pace to make the playoffs.

Otherwise, let's just stick to the current top 16 teams, and the teams on the bubble can have their own play-in games.

[Randle McMurphy]

Top teams like MIL really shouldn't have much problem finishing top 2 in a group of 5.

I think the proposal is 8 games, x2 vs every team.

You wont get knocked out by losing one or even two games. My guess is 6 wins out of 8 will get you through. In some groups, 5 might be enough.

You can give the higher seeds an advantage by giving them the tiebreaker if there's a tie.

6 wins out of 8 against better competition is still far more difficult and far more likely to produce an upset than best of 7 game series against weaker teams (like the Bucks/Magic would be).

If we're after upsets now in the NBA playoffs rather than waiting for the best teams to progress to the later stages, let's at least wait until that benefits the Raptors.

[SocialistHipHop]

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I really hope that this format is not adopted. But I’m also happy to know when the NBA will return.

[Michael Bradley]

I could see the league going with a 16 team playoff (with maybe a play in tournament for the West teams that are within a couple of games of the 8th seed like Portland and New Orleans). No travel and no home court means that conferences don't have any real meaning to it. Plus, in that scenario there is a pretty good chance of a Lakers/Raptors conference finals match-up. I'd bet on the Lakers winning that one, but still, beating LeBron in a playoff series is the only bucket list accomplished left for the Raptors to achieve now that they won a title.

[ATLTimekeeper]

The group stage wouldn't even feel like an upset, because it's still unlikely that one of these crap-a** non-playoff teams advance. But it is likely that they could win a game to bounce a really good team. The potential loss of the Lakers or Bucks from the first round would end up having the opposite impact with fans and further de-legitimize the playoffs.

All this for Zion?

[Syd-TK3]

Huge no to the soccer style groups

[Psubs]

They are discussing moving Free Agency before the Draft!

[nabbs]

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Group workouts are still disallowed. The NBA is still restricting teams with open practice facilities to allow only voluntary workouts by individual players. Multiple general managers and executives say that the league’s preference is for no group workouts to occur until teams arrive at Disney World, where the league believes its own testing and safety procedures can better control and minimize the odds of a coronavirus outbreak. In other words, the league prefers no training camps occur until teams get to Disney World.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a conference call with NBA general managers on Thursday to review the results of the survey delivered to teams last week regarding potential formats to resume play. “There was zero commitment to any one plan,” a general manager told me over the phone. “But it was a call to gather more information.”

Half of the league’s general managers voted to go straight to the playoffs and cancel the rest of the regular season, sources said. Just over half of the league voted to reseed the playoffs 1 to 16 without factoring in conference affiliation.

This was definitely the entire west that voted for 1-16

One executive I spoke with earlier in the week offered his own suggestion: If the NBA allows only 20 teams to compete for the rest of the reason, it should simply lock the current order of those teams at picks 11-30 (aside from the current tiebreakers that must be decided by coin flip). Then, the lottery odds could be recalculated to include just 10 teams rather than the usual 14. That seems like a logical and fair solution to me considering the odds are so low that a team slotted 11th through 14th would move up in the lottery anyway.

This probably prevents the borderline playoff teams from tanking mid-late season

General managers unanimously favored expanding rosters in the postseason, sources said. However, there is no set date for when games will actually be played again. No definitive schedule was discussed on Thursday’s call with general managers. But rumblings across the league suggest the NBA will require teams to arrive at Disney World around July 16, at which point they’ll quarantine for a to-be-determined amount of time before group workouts resume and scrimmages begin. And then, games could begin on Friday, July 31. But all of that will be determined in the coming days and weeks, and anything as of now is simply tentative or speculation.

On Friday, Silver will talk with the board of governors. They’ll discuss formats to resume the season, a potential timeline for a return, and the mechanics of which teams should and shouldn’t be involved. But nothing will be determined. Ultimately, the most important conversation Silver will have is with National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts. The league and its players association will need to come to an agreement to restart the season, and Roberts has been pushing for a plan to be resolved soon because the players are antsy to return to action. Said one general manager of a playoff team, “Pick a plan, and we’ll do it. Let’s play.”

[WuTang_CMB]

Play in tourney it is.

Its the most fair way of doing it. Group stage wont work here. 80 percent of the season was played. If there was no season then it works.

[alan_156]

Is this not what I told you guys my source in the NBA head office told me? 20 team play in type of tournament starting July 15 or August 1st? It got deleted by mods but it's all good.

I'm just glad we potentially have basketball back and raps can go for a repeat!!

[mademan]

so 1-16 is the most likely outcome? we get a pretty favourable bracket if that happens

[Ackshun]

Is this not what I told you guys my source in the NBA head office told me? 20 team play in type of tournament starting July 15 or August 1st? It got deleted by mods but it's all good.

I'm just glad we potentially have basketball back and raps can go for a repeat!!

You said there was going to be an announcement last Friday. There has not been an announcement.

Can't believe you're still on this. Like even you can't believe how close you got it !!

[The Duke]

-Tourament to determine 8 seed only in the West, including MEM, POR, NO, SAC since records are close. Round Robin (everyone plays each other, so 3 games each). Tie breaker is regular season record. Top 2 teams play "best of 1 series", with winner getting #8 seed

East, no tourament play in. They got there 1-8 teams, and no point dragging other teams in to it who have way lower record.

1-8 on East regular playoffs (set already)
1-8 on West with 8th seed determined by small tournament, allows a steady start to reopening, additional revenue for NBA because ppl will watch

[lobosloboslobos]

I wonder if Masai voted for or against the 1-16 seeding.

[nabbs]

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[nabbs]

Kyle looks like he has kept in shape, perhaps has even gotten in To better shape

[alan_156]

Is this not what I told you guys my source in the NBA head office told me? 20 team play in type of tournament starting July 15 or August 1st? It got deleted by mods but it's all good.

I'm just glad we potentially have basketball back and raps can go for a repeat!!

You said there was going to be an announcement last Friday. There has not been an announcement.

Can't believe you're still on this. Like even you can't believe how close you got it !!

This was my first comment since I said anything. Ahh well, I'll keep stuff to myself

Go raps!

[nabbs]

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[ash_k]

July 31st?! not even mid-July? another 2 months!!! Gosh