NBA - The Re-Open: - Connaughton has Covid-19, pg. 94

[paulpressey25]

Want to see who can post the news about Avery Bradley electing not to play due family health issues. Looks like I’m first.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[skbucks1985]

He's not the biggest name that's opting out, but he is definitely the most significant

[Je K]

Wow good for him. That could not have been an easy decision being on a contender.

[paulpressey25]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

[ReasonablySober]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with an asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

[FlagsFlyForever]

The perfect solution to the whole thing is to stop the charade that they care and just let guys play with COVID if they feel well enough. If they feel too sick, let them sit. Stop testing. Don’t let old, at risk people around the players. Just let them do their thing. Boom. We have basketball next month and next year.

Look at all the heroes we could make. The Flu Game is the most iconic game of the most iconic player in the sport. What grit Jordan showed to play through that deadly infectious disease.

[FlagsFlyForever]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with a asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

I disagree. There will certainly be "what if" questions but I don't see how this would be different from Toronto beating Golden State last year without Durant. Missing key players has always been a part of the NBA playoffs.

[brettski]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

Can you imagine the protocols in place for players before conference finals and finals? Imagine Lebron testing positive the day before Game 1 of a finals. 14 days would mean miss at least the first 4-5 games and by then his team (or any similar team led by a major superstar) has likely lost 4-0 or 4-1. Team protocols would be to wrap these guys in cotton wool, not let them near anyone that could make them sick.

[brettski]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with a asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

I disagree. There will certainly be "what if" questions but I don't see how this would be different from Toronto beating Golden State last year without Durant. Missing key players has always been a part of the NBA playoffs.

Difference #1 is a player could become sick and miss an entire series the day before. Similar I guess to doing an ACL/MCL in training the day before. I don't think THAT has happened.

Difference #2 is that a virus could take out the entire team if they're all training together. Protocols for this would be very different to losing one player to an ankle injury.

[paulpressey25]

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with an asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

Think about how flukey it was last year for Golden State to have two HOF players go down with one-year devastating injuries in the Finals. Crazy odds against that. But as Ohm said on the pod, this is the new normal.

The big question will be whether or not the NBA players experience in getting Covid-19 is simply a two-week flu or whether some get further medical complications. That's where I think the players have to make a choice. And we'll see certain people not be able to participate, just as we'll probably see some 60-70 year old school teachers and professors or those with pre-existing conditions not be able to resume classroom teaching. It all sucks. But its where we are at until a proven safe vaccine is developed.

ETA: El P posted same thing at same time.

[ReasonablySober]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with a asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

I disagree. I don't see how this would be different from Toronto beating Golden State last year without Durant. Missing key players has always been a part of the NBA playoffs.

This is a pandemic that's causing the entire league to drastically change the format of the league. There isn't home court advantage. Player routines are out the window. This isn't a case of an unfortunate ACL injury, and lets be honest, the vast majority of NBA playoffs are played with the the stars healthy. If the other leagues are any indication, we're absolutely going to come back with players on every team infected. All it takes is LeBron, Giannis, Leonard, Embiid, Simmons, Middleton, etc. to contract it and the legitimacy of the NBA title is out the window.

[paulpressey25]

Can you imagine the protocols in place for players before conference finals and finals? Imagine Lebron testing positive the day before Game 1 of a finals. 14 days would mean miss at least the first 4-5 games and by then his team (or any similar team led by a major superstar) has likely lost 4-0 or 4-1. Team protocols would be to wrap these guys in cotton wool, not let them near anyone that could make them sick.

This is where the alpha dogs are:

a) Going to have to insist the NBA pay the Disney workers to stay in the bubble

b) Keep their own fellow players in the bubble

Where I see it breaking down is if some dude slips away to go clubbing and then ends up giving LeBron Covid. That's going to cause a real mess.

[ReasonablySober]

Be honest. If the Bucks win a title against the Lakers without LeBron or Davis are you really going to consider them the rightful champions? If the sides were reversed are you going to concede the Lakers were just the better team or are you going to be bitter the Bucks didn't get to face the Lakers with the league MVP?

[paulpressey25]

Be honest. If the Bucks win a title against the Lakers without LeBron or Davis are you really going to consider them the rightful champions? If the sides were reversed are you going to concede the Lakers were just the better team or are you going to be bitter the Bucks didn't get to face the Lakers with the league MVP?

Obviously want the Bucks to face the best and win. Problem is that the world has changed forever with the virus. If I had my choice, we'd have no virus and the Bucks already won the title last week.

So we have to adapt to the new reality that there could be fluky Covid situations. But think we need to first give this restart a try to figure out if a sports league can pull it off. Again otherwise we might as well send the Packers home also for a few years.

[DanoMac]

Be honest. If the Bucks win a title against the Lakers without LeBron or Davis are you really going to consider them the rightful champions? If the sides were reversed are you going to concede the Lakers were just the better team or are you going to be bitter the Bucks didn't get to face the Lakers with the league MVP?

Sure, if I was on the other side of the fence I’d be bitter. But a championship is a championship. The rules don’t say the opposing team’s star player has to be playing for it to count.

The Eagles won a Super Bowl with a backup at the most important position. ****’s weird sometimes, this being the new best case.

The NBA is adapting the best they can.

[skbucks1985]

Windhorst did a podcast yesterday on the restart. He had Nick Friedell on.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/12426375

There was an interesting interchange around the 14 minute mark where Friedell says "The first time a big name player tests positive and has to sit out two weeks, the world is going to go nuts and they'll say this is not on the up and up, and not legit to crown a champ"

Windhorst replied "It's all we have Nick. It's all we have"

Ohm Youngmisuk then weighed in and said "This may be the new world were going to be living in, past Orlando......People may need to get used to the new injury being a virus that requires a player to sit out two weeks"

I tend to agree with Windhorst. We can debate whether or not it makes sense to go forward, but in the end the NBA is too big to fail. Either they give this imperfect start a try, or they might as well fold up the league for a couple years.

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with an asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

If this happens, the team that wins is still going to get a trophy and rings and with the exception of a parade, they're going to get all of the other spoils of winning a title. The asterisk only exists as perception. And if the Lakers don't win, I guarantee you a lot of Lakers fan and other NBA fans will say they didn't win the title because one of their starters and best defensive guard is not playing. The difference between the present situation and Lebron or AD getting a positive test before Game 1 of the Finals is the latter situation will make placing an asterisk on the champion a more widely held position.

[FlagsFlyForever]

The minute a major player on one of the contenders has to sit for 14 days because of a positive test is the minute the championship comes with a asterisk and you might as well just call the whole thing off.

I disagree. I don't see how this would be different from Toronto beating Golden State last year without Durant. Missing key players has always been a part of the NBA playoffs.

This is a pandemic that's causing the entire league to drastically change the format of the league. There isn't home court advantage. Player routines are out the window. This isn't a case of an unfortunate ACL injury, and lets be honest, the vast majority of NBA playoffs are played with the the stars healthy. If the other leagues are any indication, we're absolutely going to come back with players on every team infected. All it takes is LeBron, Giannis, Leonard, Embiid, Simmons, Middleton, etc. to contract it and the legitimacy of the NBA title is out the window.

I disagree with the notion that "the vast majority of NBA playoffs are played with the stars healthy." In the last five years, I think three champions would be different if stars were healthy. In 2015, I believe Cleveland beats Golden State if Kyrie and Love are healthy. In 2018, I believe Houston beats Golden State if Chris Paul doesn't get hurt when they are up 3-2. Last year, I believe Golden State beats Toronto if Durant is healthy and Klay doesn't miss the one game.

Suppose the Bucks and Lakers are in the Finals and LeBron tears his ACL in Game 1. Would the legitimacy of the Bucks' championship be out the window in your opinion?

[brettski]

Can you imagine the protocols in place for players before conference finals and finals? Imagine Lebron testing positive the day before Game 1 of a finals. 14 days would mean miss at least the first 4-5 games and by then his team (or any similar team led by a major superstar) has likely lost 4-0 or 4-1. Team protocols would be to wrap these guys in cotton wool, not let them near anyone that could make them sick.

This is where the alpha dogs are:

a) Going to have to insist the NBA pay the Disney workers to stay in the bubble

b) Keep their own fellow players in the bubble

Where I see it breaking down is if some dude slips away to go clubbing and then ends up giving LeBron Covid. That's going to cause a real mess.

I meant in general. Two years from now they may have new protocols to manage pandemics and extend it to the flu etc where if a player catches a virus they're not able to play for two weeks. Imagine how much teams will try to wrap players in cotton wool in the lead up to a finals in fear of a superstar catching the flu and not being able to play for two weeks.

[skones]

Be honest. If the Bucks win a title against the Lakers without LeBron or Davis are you really going to consider them the rightful champions? If the sides were reversed are you going to concede the Lakers were just the better team or are you going to be bitter the Bucks didn't get to face the Lakers with the league MVP?

Everybody who doesn't can kiss my ass and the trophy.

[RRyder823]

Be honest. If the Bucks win a title against the Lakers without LeBron or Davis are you really going to consider them the rightful champions? If the sides were reversed are you going to concede the Lakers were just the better team or are you going to be bitter the Bucks didn't get to face the Lakers with the league MVP?

Well id first ask the question how the hell the Lakers made it through the Clippers down one of Lebron/AD?

Then I'd say yep. Taking that championship and running with it

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