#IMHO: The return of the NBA? Plus, Luka, Kobe and KG
Lang WhitakerGrind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Michael Wallace have been covering the NBA since shorts were short and socks were long, but their opinions about the League don’t always mesh. #IMHO is their weekly chance to weigh in on the most pertinent news from around the NBA. What’s lit? What’s lame? Find out each week right here.
From: Lang Whitaker
Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 1:13 PM
To: Michael Wallace
Subject: IMHO
Mike,
As the quarantining and social distancing continue on, and we live in what feels like Groundhog Day, every day, if you squint real hard and look way, way out there, you might be able to see something that looks as if it could be… some good news on the horizon?
According to numerous reports, the NBA is slowly and carefully eyeing a return. As NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement over the weekend: “The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing. Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.”
Which isn’t exactly announcing a return to action, but it is the closest thing we’ve heard to an admission that the NBA might actually be back to finish off this season, and starting in about eight weeks from now. Just curious, Mike, do you think we will see the rest of this season, in some shape or form?
From: Michael Wallace
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 2:33 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
Barring a major spike in cases, specifically impacting the central Florida area, I do see the NBA returning in the next month or so. In fact, it’s not a matter of if or when as much as it is a question of how? What format will the NBA use? Anything more than going straight to the playoffs, based on where the standings stood when the season was suspended March 11, might be too much of a risk. These aren’t ideal circumstances, so the teams that just missed the cut for the eighth seed in each conference just have to deal with it.
And yes, I say this knowing full well the Grizzlies made the cut and were eighth in the West when play halted. But it’s not as if they just got there or were sliding in and out of the picture. Memphis was in that final playoff spot for nearly two months. The reason why there’s so much smoke and noise around the potential return-to-play format is because there are some impressionable voices, franchises and media members vouching for teams outside of the playoff picture. Portland, with perennial All-Star Damian Lillard, is among that group. The five-time champion Spurs are also in the mix a few games behind the Grizzlies in the standings. And, of course, there are No. 1 pick Zion Williamson and the Pelicans nipping at the Grizzlies’ heels, too.
So, to me, just how the NBA decides to settle this issue is going to be every bit as intriguing as what happens once the games resume on the court. I expect some definitive details to start emerging as soon as this coming weekend. To that end, Lang, how do you feel about the possibility out there of seeding the playoffs 1 through 16, regardless of conference, and letting it play out without Eastern and Western Conference distinctions? I’m not a fan of that idea, necessarily. But it does show that commissioner Adam Silver is, indeed, considering all options on the table.
From: Lang Whitaker
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 9:17 AM
To: Michael Wallace
Subject: Re: IMHO
It takes a lot to get me riled up, Mike, but this whole “How do we restart the season?” thing is one of those topics that gets me going. I saw Lillard arguing that if the Blazers didn’t have a clear path at making the postseason, he wouldn’t play. And my response would be, your team did have a clear path at making the postseason: the regular season. We played 3/4 of the season for a reason, didn’t we? For the teams that aren’t in the top eight, well, there’s a reason you aren’t there.
We have a bunch of proposals being floated these days, from a tournament for everyone (that guarantees certain teams getting in) to World Cup-style group play to…well, there have been many suggestions. What I don’t understand is, why? Why are we even talking about this? And why, if we are going to try some weird tournament or something, are we trying to make some arbitrary line to decide who’s in and who’s out? Now I know, this isn’t a normal situation we find ourselves in the midst of, so perhaps all options should be on the table. But we’re just going to randomly draw some line across the standings to decide who has a chance? Nope.
I understand there are teams (Golden State, for instance) with little to play for other than lottery seeding, and it may make sense for them not to bring their full roster back this season. Which is how things would have been even if we hadn’t hit pause on the season. And then there are teams like Portland, New Orleans and Sacramento, who are 3.5 games back of Memphis in the West. They had 65 games to catch Memphis. They didn’t.
So, I feel there are two fair options. One, you play out the rest of the entire regular season, and give every team the chance they were promised at the start of the season. Or two, you start the postseason right now, with the standings the way they are. People want the NBA regular season to mean something, right? This is a perfect chance to show people that it did have meaning.
Mike, I’ve spent part of the quarantine cranking out cooking videos for Grind City Media. I’ve spent another part of the quarantine jogging almost every day, doing my best to stave off what happens when you don’t leave the house for weeks. In the interest of #MUSCLEWATCH, I’ve heard some NBA players have added weight, and I’m sure some will lose weight, as well. Give me one player you expect to have been able to use this period to make some serious changes in their appearance?
From: Michael Wallace
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 1:32 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
I’m most curious to see how some of the young stars have maintained their conditioning and shape. The first name that came to mind when I thought about your question was Luka Doncic. The Mavs’ phenom reportedly went back overseas and spent much of his time during this break outside of the United States. So there haven’t been a lot of photos or sightings of Luka over the past few months.
It would not completely shock me if he’s added a few unhealthy pounds as a young guy who relies on his youth and athleticism to play his way back into shape. Nor would I be surprised to see Luka, a budding league MVP candidate, come back having gone through a Giannis Antetokounmpo-type body transformation to become a shredded cyborg. So, Luka is a guy I’d be intrigued to see when the games start back up. He was stacking up triple-doubles and clutch performances while still emerging from his baby-fat stage of life.
Lang, we’ll wrap up on this: The Basketball Hall of Fame is nearing a decision on how to proceed with this year’s induction ceremony that includes the late Kobe Bryant along with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the postponement or cancellation of numerous sporting events and ceremonies across the globe this spring. In fact, the Baseball Hall of Fame has already nixed its 2020 induction ceremony. The basketball Hall of Fame induction is regularly set for September. Considering the legacy of the greats going in this year, especially Kobe, I think the right move would be to wait until fans, family and league dignitaries could be on hand for posthumous tributes to Kobe and Commissioner David Stern.
That said, I’m not sure it would be fair to the 2021 potential class to have two years’ worth of Hall of Fame inductions in one ceremony. If there’s a way to proceed later this year with the 2020 class, and then go as scheduled next year with the 2021 class, that would be ideal. How would you prefer to see this play out?
From: Lang Whitaker
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 1:54 PM
To: Michael Wallace
Subject: Re: IMHO
Yes, the 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremony was going to be epic, between time to pay tribute to KG, TD, Kobe, Commissioner Stern and so many others, including the recently departed Eddie Sutton. And 2021 should also be great, with names like Paul Pierce, Chris Webber and Chris Bosh headlining the class.
But I agree, we should have two separate ceremonies. The way I look at it, these induction ceremonies are almost like college graduations. It means everything to these players, and is a chance to be surrounded by their friends and families and dwell on everything that was great about their careers. If we can’t pause and celebrate them properly, I agree that we should wait and maybe hold off another year until we can give them our full respects. We can think about these guys every day, but coming together to celebrate their legacies is totally worth the wait.
Published on May 28, 2020
Related content
