NBA is Officially Back (Official Thread)

[WuTang_CMB]

yep it will be 22 teams.

format still has to be iron out.

Will there be regular season games? - I think there will be.

Will there be a play in tourney for 8-11 seeds in each conference? I think there will be.

Then I think after all that done, we see a 16 team championship bracket. Best of 7 each.

Seems this is going to finish mid October.

[Randle McMurphy]

All this effort and time for the right to get swept by the Bucks or Lakers. I hope this doesn't become a thing in the future.

[tecumseh18]

yep it will be 22 teams.

format still has to be iron out.

Will there be regular season games? - I think there will be.

Will there be a play in tourney for 8-11 seeds in each conference? I think there will be.

Then I think after all that done, we see a 16 team championship bracket. Best of 7 each.

Seems this is going to finish mid October.

I liked the 20-team four group round-robin approach, but with 22 teams that's impossible. I guess they'll need a play-in tourney, but that will give the lower seeded teams more practice in a competitive setting than the higher seeded teams when the actual playoffs start. Are Raps supposed to have informal runs against the Bucks and Sixers and Heat in the meantime? No way, the Heat play too rough!

[WuTang_CMB]

yep it will be 22 teams.

format still has to be iron out.

Will there be regular season games? - I think there will be.

Will there be a play in tourney for 8-11 seeds in each conference? I think there will be.

Then I think after all that done, we see a 16 team championship bracket. Best of 7 each.

Seems this is going to finish mid October.

I'll liked the 20-team four group round-robin approach, but with 22 teams that's impossible. I guess they'll need a play-in tourney, but that will give the lower seeded teams more practice in a competitive setting than the higher seeded teams when the actual playoffs start. Are Raps supposed to have informal runs against the Bucks and Sixers and Heat in the meantime? No way, the Heat play too rough!

Group stage would have worked if there was no regular season that was played. Because of it, its not really fair to the top 8 teams.

NBAPA pushing for regular season games and they may just do it and act as the tune up before the bracket tournament.

[Mattd97]

Thank goodness its not a group stage plan. Seemed ridiculous to put the entire season in the hands of a few games on the back of a pandemic restart. Raps could easily miss the playoffs with that, not sure how anyone here could've been in favour of it

[Syd-TK3]

I don't get the 22 team having extra games on top of a play in tournament.
How are they gonna decide these last few games if not every team is included, they can't just use the original schedule?

[LoveMyRaps]

It'd be pretty jokes, but sad, if the the Wizards beat the Magic to rob that 8th seed. They'll most likely have John Wall back as well, so I can definitely see it happening.

[nabbs]

Read on Twitter

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[SocialistHipHop]

Read on Twitter

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Finally, it’s starting to feel real again!

[Ackshun]

Read on Twitter

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Finally, it’s starting to feel real again!

Booking off the first 12 days of October. Woop woop

[WuTang_CMB]

Mark lasry owner of Bucks was just on cnbc and said vote is at 12:30 on Thursday and its getting unanimous vote to go ahead.

Start date July 31 (my bday ! ya)

and there will be a play in tournament

[nabbs]

Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

?s=21

Helpful tweets on scenarios for potential return dates and whatnot. What seems to be non negotiable is the prospect of not starting after Christmas. The NBA won’t sacrifice that revenue no matter what it takes so at worst, the start of next season can be no later than December 25th

[WuTang_CMB]

In this scenario, 22 of the league's 30 teams would be invited to a centralized location (with Orlando considered the heavy favorite), and "the six extra teams would compete with the two No. 8 seeds from each conference in an eight-team single-elimination tournament," Berman reported.

The top two finishers in the single-elimination tourney would advance to the playoffs as the No. 8 seeds in the Western and Eastern conferences.

According to Berman, "The six extra teams would be invited on the basis of being within six games of the eighth seed on March 11 (when the NBA went on hiatus)."

Those six teams are the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards.

Meanwhile, teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and others would not be invited.

And with next season not likely to start until late December, all of those teams would receive an extended break, never before seen in pro basketball.

[Michael Bradley]

If we are looking at a season that officially ends on October 12, and a training camp that begins in the first week of December, then that's not a lot of break in between. Surprised the players would be fine with that, but there doesn't appear to be much choice if they want to crown a champion for this season.

[Scott Hall]

I don't know how I feel about this....

Feels like the return is gonna be some gimmick carny style tournament with rusty players with a high chance of injury
winning championship that everyone will put an asterisk beside?

I'm starting to feel it's better just to resume in October like usual then make next season a clown show as well

[Zeno]

In this scenario, 22 of the league's 30 teams would be invited to a centralized location (with Orlando considered the heavy favorite), and "the six extra teams would compete with the two No. 8 seeds from each conference in an eight-team single-elimination tournament," Berman reported.

The top two finishers in the single-elimination tourney would advance to the playoffs as the No. 8 seeds in the Western and Eastern conferences.

According to Berman, "The six extra teams would be invited on the basis of being within six games of the eighth seed on March 11 (when the NBA went on hiatus)."

Those six teams are the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards.

Meanwhile, teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and others would not be invited.

And with next season not likely to start until late December, all of those teams would receive an extended break, never before seen in pro basketball.

Where is this quote from? It makes it sound like there is the potential for a West team to be the 8th seed in the East also. If this true that's great but I can't see the justification for the Nets not being in there too, they are only a half game up on Orlando. They should make those 3 playoff spots up for grabs for those 9 teams (14-22).

[Zeno]

I don't know how I feel about this....

Feels like the return is gonna be some gimmick carny style tournament with rusty players with a high chance of injury
winning championship that everyone will put an asterisk beside?

I'm starting to feel it's better just to resume in October like usual then make next season a clown show as well

I don't think they want to come back in October. They are hoping for the situation to allow fans somehow if they push next season back to December. But in the end, it may all end up a clown show however and whenever they plan to proceed. Might as well give it a try. Anyway, I'd like to watch this version of the team a little more...the are probably my favourite Raptors team to watch and root for of all time.

[Michael Bradley]

I don't know how I feel about this....

Feels like the return is gonna be some gimmick carny style tournament with rusty players with a high chance of injury
winning championship that everyone will put an asterisk beside?

I'm starting to feel it's better just to resume in October like usual then make next season a clown show as well

Finishing this season and then beginning next season in December is going to be more profitable for them (TV playoff money for 2020). I hope any play-in tournament is only applicable to the teams vying for the 8th seed, and not for the rest of the teams. If they turn it into a gimmick then it will definitely feel less legitimate.

My guess is they'll give Portland, Zion, etc, a chance to make the 8th seed, and then just do the playoffs in the regular format based off the existing standings. Unless they desperately want a LA/LA finals, in which case they might do the 1 through 16 playoff format, but that seems more fantasy than reality (for now).

[nabbs]

If we are looking at a season that officially ends on October 12, and a training camp that begins in the first week of December, then that's not a lot of break in between. Surprised the players would be fine with that, but there doesn't appear to be much choice if they want to crown a champion for this season.

The season runs 8 months. If the start date is December 25th, 2020 for the 2020-2021 campaign then that puts the finals at around August 26th, 2021. If the norm going forward is a Christmas start date then that's 4 months.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. It'll be compressed in the short time but it'll be a normal offseason going forward

[LJKO]

End date on October 12 my Birthday; I'm okay with this