NBA schedule debate – Winners and losers in the NBA’s pre-Christmas start

The NBA season ended less than a month ago with the uncertainty of when the 2020-21 season would begin. Thursday-evening, representatives of the National Basketball Federation completed the vote and approved the start of the regular season with 72 games on June 22. December.

According to Adrian Voynarovskiy’s report, the NBA and NBPA will conclude negotiations on the financial terms of the amended collective agreement, which will enter into force next week. The commercial moratorium is expected to be lifted shortly before the NBA 2020 project on 18 January. November.

Our NBA experts assessed who would be most affected by this decision and what other changes they would like to see.

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Who benefits most from the start date December 22nd?

Tim Bontemps: Teams maintaining the status quo. In a world where there is already so much uncertainty because of the pandemic, it becomes a big challenge for many teams to start a new season when a training camp is interrupted and free agents arrive. In this way, groups that are likely to return with minimal changes – such as the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat – will have a big advantage.

Kevin Pelton: There is a good chance that the teams that provide continuity will benefit from this. When I looked at the importance of continuity last season, I realized that it usually doesn’t help to get teams to start faster. After the lock-out of 2011, when teams with a strong continuity in the first 10 games played significantly better than in the rest of the season, the situation changed.

Bobby Brands: Teams that were not invited to the Orlando, Florida Bubble (especially the Golden State Warriors) While the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets were fighting for a spot in the NBA finals in late September and the Los Angeles Clippers were fired by coach Doc Rivers in early October, the Warriors had been on the sidelines since mid-March. Of course, the Western conference teams will be tired of the bubble playoffs at the beginning of the season, and Golden State should be ready for capitalization.

Eric Woodyard: The competition. It’s a good idea to play as soon as possible. Let’s not forget that the NBA is a company.

Kirk Goldsberry: People who like to watch basketball. We plan to have tires all winter and playoffs in the spring. The beginning of Christmas is a good time to return to a normal life on the calendar.

Which has until the beginning of the 22nd. December 1st was the hardest?

Golden Silver Bay: Many will complain, but as a former front man I can’t imagine that I want to do a recruitment internship, free time in a desk and a training camp before Christmas. Usually the period between the play-offs and the summer division is the craziest time of the year for the front office – this year it can be crazy. At the beginning of the pre-Christmas period, the fronts are crossed.

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Pelton: Teams that want to fundamentally rethink their schedules by swapping in this off-season may need to think twice to give them time to practice their new line-up together. The accelerated training camp also seems to work against players returning from serious injuries – especially Kevin Durant and Clay Thompson.

Signs: This decision made too much financial sense for the players to refuse, but the 22 teams simply endured the heavy burden of basketball, both physically and morally. I think players who finished the playoffs in September or October wouldn’t be satisfied with a few weeks, not months, before training camp.

Woodyard: The teams that have had deep qualifications in the Orlando bubble because there isn’t much time to recover from the competition at such a high level. Especially the Lakers and the Heat will have to fight again immediately after the title fight.

Good time: However, free agents, like everyone else, will certainly start the 2020-21 season slowly because of their constant contractual situation – especially with players who are not directly committed.

Fault! The file name is not specified. Yes Morant and Damien Lillard met in a Jesse D bubble game. Garrarbrant/NVAE/Getty Pictures

What would you change in a possible playoff scenario?

Good time: After I was in the sperm, I thought the game was a success. I might be interested in expanding them, for example to teams 7 to 10 at each conference, but that would require more attention because it would take days.

Signs: Reboot games sold me to a game scenario I was very skeptical about. In the 72-game schedule, I would like the teams on the roster to be two games in a row. Leaving aside the four games we’ve seen this summer, we’ll certainly dilute the regular season.

Pelton: Compared to what we saw last season, I think it’s a good idea to get more than 8 places. I would have kept the perspective we saw when candidates had to be in a number of games to start a gambling opportunity.

Golden and silver berries: Games are for single use only. None of those nine seats can beat an eight-person twice. Just do it.

Woodyard: The NBA playback scenario was a great idea, but it helped to set up the bubbles. If a team interferes with its own affairs during the regular season, it is not allowed to participate in the play-offs for a place it has already won.

What other formats or settings would you like to see the NBA experience?

Pelton: In addition to the play-offs, I think the play-offs have also shown how useful it is to be suspended at some point in a repeat tournament, so teams don’t have to worry about their chances in a late race. It worked well this season because the top eight teams did not know in advance that the season would start in 11th place. The month of March would end. Randomly setting the date for freezing the tournament tables would improve the lottery system.

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Signs: A heavy dose of conference games and a one-time East versus West match. If the goal is to get out of the bubble and return to the team’s home market, then the typical NBA season circuit should be shortened. I’m also into baseball, where a team like the Philadelphia team would play three out of four nights against Chicago.

Woodyard: I would like the NBA to experiment with a shorter schedule and possibly shorten the season between 56 and 62 games. This format keeps players fresh and offers fans a much better product because the guys don’t have to worry so much about managing the cargo.

Good time: For a long time I supported an interseasonal tournament similar to what happens in European football and basketball. I know it would take time for everyone – from fans to teams and players – to buy something, but in the long run it could be a very good thing for the sport because it would give the teams another reason to work. At a time when financing is a problem, it would also give the competition something else to sell.

Golden Silver Bay: I would like to organize a meaningful mid-season tournament. Basketball is best when individual players can improve or destroy a team’s chances. That’s why an NCAA tournament can be so exciting. Imagine how you could complete a single elimination round in a league tournament – it would be incredible. It is also time to exclude the top 16 teams from the play-offs and let them participate in the play-offs, even if that means adjusting the schedule. I’m for the 58th regular season, where we play twice with each opponent, for the mid-season winner and for the rectangular playoffs, where the conferences play no role.

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