It’s been a rough few months but screw it; I’m going to Disney World!
Not really … wouldn’t it be nice?
There have been no sports for months. I guess that’s not entirely true. For some reason, WWE was deemed as ‘essential work’ so, those guys continued to televise matches – what a joke. And at least we’ve finally been getting some UFC events to watch.
But there have been two main concerns as we donned our masks to leave the house all spring and on towards summer: Will there even be an MLB season and will the NBA season resume?
It looks like we’ll get both!
The NBA regular season will reboot on July 31st. So, sure, it’s still a couple of months of waiting but at least it isn’t going to jump right to the playoffs like most of us thought it initially would. As a Trail Blazers fan, I was so bummed to see them in 9th place and have their game canceled … then the season canceled.
So, how will it work?
We’ll get the 16 playoff teams; eight from each conference, then a total of 6 teams that are within 6 games of the 8th place relegation line. So not everyone team in the NBA is coming back. Once again the Eastern Conference was weaker as a whole, so most of these potential ‘play-in’ teams are coming out of the Western Conference.
The Six Within Six:
- Portland Trail Blazers
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Phoenix Suns
- Washington Wizards
Top Eight Out East:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Toronto Raptors
- Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat
- Indiana Pacers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Orlando Magic
Top Eight Out West
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
- Utah Jazz
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Memphis Grizzlies
Teams from No. 1 to No. 6 in both conferences are locked in. This is because the ‘regular-season finale will only be eight games. So, any team that has an 8.5 game lead on the No. 9 team of its respective conference is mathematically in.
So, we’ll have eight games to decide who’s in. It could potentially turn into 10 games if the No. 8 and No. 9 teams are within four of each other at the end. If this is the case, the higher-ranked team just has to win one game to move on. Whereas the lower-ranked team will have to win back-to-back and double-eliminate the No. 8 team to usurp them.
Speaking of No. 9 teams. The Portland Trail Blazers might have a tough road ahead. Oddly enough, the Blazers were the only team to vote against a resumed season … strange considering they are the closest team out of 8th in the league.
So, Melo … Carmelo Anthony has been a solid player for Rip City since signing in November. He’s snagged a little over 6 boards and dropped a little over 15 points per game. At just 3.5 games out of 8th, the Blazers have a legitimate shot of scratching their way into the playoffs for the 36th time in their 50 year existence.
But Melo isn’t sure if he’ll be present at the Happiest Place on Earth – not sure if that only applies to Disney Land or of it bridges over to Disney World.
According to Yahoo Sports, Carmelo isn’t alone. There is a group of 40-50 players who doubt the plan. That said, it’s already been officially stated that opting out of playing a resumed season amidst the chaos of coronavirus and social justice, will invoke no punishment. Players are free not to attend.
It’s understandable given the current situation in America. There are concerns about leaving family, and parts of the contract that state they can’t leave Disney World campus grounds. And of course, some are probably afraid of exposure to COVID, especially since the second wave is coming. The only thing they’ll lose is equivalent pay and my respect – which they don’t care about anyhow.
