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Report: NBA target date to return is set for July 31st

By Duncan Smith

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: A general view of American Airlines Arena after the game between the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets on March 11, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The NBA announced the season has been suspended after a Utah Jazz player preliminary tested positive for the coronavirus. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: A general view of American Airlines Arena after the game between the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets on March 11, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The NBA announced the season has been suspended after a Utah Jazz player preliminary tested positive for the coronavirus. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA has set a target return date of July 31st. What could that mean for possible return scenarios?

After some debate over just when to expect a return to action for the NBA, it appears we have a target date. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has informed the league’s Board of Governors that July 31st is the target date to return to action.

It’s the closest thing we’ve seen to a concrete declaration since the NBA suspended its season two and a half months ago, but it leaves a number of questions nonetheless. Perhaps the first one that will have to be addressed concerns when players and teams will arrive in the bubble city (most likely Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando).

In addition, with the league’s general managers preferring the season is completed in full by October 1st, a fairly firm two-month window is provided between the re-start and the completion of the playoffs. Considering a standard playoff run lasts between two and two-and-a-half months, anything more than a 16-team playoff will face an abbreviated timetable.

It’s important to remember that even though the period of time between the re-start to the conclusion of the season may be a bit shorter than usual, teams won’t have the usual travel concerns that face them during either the regular season and the playoffs, and the venue will have enough courts to be able to play games nearly around the clock.

So it’s abbreviated chronologically, but functionally the number of games could be expanded slightly, and that may be a factor in allowing for either all 30 teams to return to action or a “playoffs plus” format involving 20 or so teams in a FIFA World Cup-style group stage.

The target date is just right to allow for each of the formats that the league is considering. And finally, we have a date we can look forward to.

Next. Harrison Barnes points out concern for NBA return. dark