While it seems inevitable that the NBA will continue its season sometime in the near future, it remains to be seen how exactly the remainder of the season will look. There’s been talk about doing a tournament, starting the playoffs with the top-16 seeds among other ideas. The league is staying pretty quiet about what they’ll do as they are probably still trying to decide.
Los Angeles Lakers veteran Jared Dudley has been a very good source of information and he gave some more insight on what’s being discussed.
Having some sort of warm-up period before the playoffs makes sense. These teams haven’t played in over two months and they should get the opportunity to work out any kinks before they play in the really important games. This situation appears to be very fluid and the NBA will take its time before a decision is announced.
Dudley Address Damian Lillard’s Comments
One problem the NBA faces is that it’s hard to incentivize teams to continue playing that are out of the playoff race. Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has a very strong opinion about the potential return.
“If we come back and they’re just like, ‘We’re adding a few games to finish the regular season,’ and they’re throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don’t have a true opportunity to get into the playoffs, I’m going to be with my team because I’m a part of the team. But I’m not going to be participating. I’m telling you that right now. And you can put that in there,” Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Lillard believes there’s an alternative that would make sense.
“If we come back and I don’t have an opportunity to make the playoffs, I will show up to work, I’ll be at practice and I’ll be with my team. I’m going to do all that and then I’m going to be sitting right on that bench during the games,” Lillard said. “If they come back and say it’s something like a tournament, play-in style, between the No. 7 and No. 12 seeds, if we’re playing for playoff spots, then I think that’s perfect.”
A tournament setup would certainly bring a new level of excitement for teams that are currently out of the playoff race. Dudley revealed that this scenario is something that the NBA is already thinking about.
The tournament idea makes sense. Most teams had around 20 games left to play and a lot could’ve happened in those 20 games. If they don’t do the tournament idea, it’s hard to imagine teams out of the playoff race will want to play five meaningless games to help out the playoff teams.
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Will NBA Return in July?
There appears to be momentum building that the NBA will start back up in July. Players were able to go back to facilities in a limited fashion in May and should be able to practice with their teams at some point in June. Time will tell if the league will aim for an early or late July start.
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Lakers’ Jared Dudley Reveals What Teams Need Prior to Start of Playoffs