NBA returns with a plethora of questions remaining

On Thursday, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a format to restart the season with 22 teams returning to play and a tentative start date of July 31.

On Thursday, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a competitive format to restart the season with 22 teams returning to play and a tentative start date of Friday, July 31.

With that vote, the NBA is back and poised to resume play, 142 days after suspending its 2019-20 season on March 11th when word came down that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

And as details are revealed of how the remainder of the season will play out, questions abound. What safety protocols and policies will be in place? What if someone does test positive for COVID-19? Are there concerns about employees of Walt Disney World and any possible exposure? What are expectations for the teams that won’t be traveling to Orlando? How will these teams handle the remainder of the summer and the fall while their colleagues are still playing and what, if any, restrictions will be placed on them? Once a team is eliminated, then what? These are just a few of the many questions yet to be answered.

Meanwhile, today’s vote is just the beginning of a multi-step process to resume play.

Other steps, according to the league, include finalizing a “comprehensive season restart plan with the NBPA (Players Association) and establishment of a rigorous program to prevent and mitigate the risk related to COVID-19, including a regular testing protocol and stringent safety practices.”

Additionally, restarting the season is contingent on an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to use Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, as a single site for a campus for all games, practices and housing for the remainder of the season, the League reports.

Also announced today were the following dates – all dependent upon the season resuming on July 31st: the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery would be rescheduled for Aug. 25, the 2020 NBA Draft would be held on Oct. 15 and the 2020-21 NBA regular season would likely begin on Dec. 1, 2020.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver released in a statement:

"“The Board’s approval of the restart format is a necessary step toward resuming the NBA season. While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts.  We also recognize that as we prepare to resume play, our society is reeling from recent tragedies of racial violence and injustice, and we will continue to work closely with our teams and players to use our collective resources and influence to address these issues in very real and concrete ways.”"

Per a release from League offices, the competitive format involves 22 returning teams – the 16 teams (eight per conference) in current playoff positions and the six teams that are currently six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in their respective conferences. Those two groups comprise teams with the NBA’s 22 best records.

Eastern conference teams for the season restart would be the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.

Western conference teams for the season restart would be the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns.

More from NBA

• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
• Grading every NBA team’s highest draft pick in the last five years

With today’s announcement, the season is now officially over for eight NBA teams: the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors from the West; and the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers from the East.

The 2019-20 season would conclude with a traditional playoff format with best-of-seven series in the first round, conference semifinals, conference finals and the NBA Finals.

The NBA’s season suspension came down the night of March 11th when it was revealed that Gobert had tested positive for the virus which rapidly spread throughout the nation and resulted in a near-global shut down of schools, businesses, retail organizations and every major sports league, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder were about to start their game in Oklahoma’s Chesapeake Energy Arena when the news hit. That game was canceled and all fans were told to go home.

In addition to the Jazz-Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks vs. Denver Nuggets game – which was in the third quarter when word of the suspension came down – the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings were to play but the game was called off after players learned a referee for their game had refereed a game two days earlier involving the Jazz and the player who tested positive.

“The NBA is suspending gameplay following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,” the league said in a statement that night. “The NBA will use this hiatus to determine the next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Those next steps are upon us and for many, not a moment too soon.

Stay tuned in to Hoops Habit for the latest on this developing story.