If NBA resumes, Spurs have steep climb
Road to extending postseason streak to 23 paved with external and internal obstacles
SAN ANTONIO — By all accounts, the NBA is still pushing to resume its season at Disney World late next month.
Statistically, the Magic Kingdom isn’t quite The Germiest Place on Earth. Yet, the number of COVID-19 cases is rising in Orange County, Fla., where the league hopes to set up shop through mid-October.
According to recent national reports, a not-significant portion of NBA players — led by Brooklyn All-Star Kyrie Irving — have expressed concerns to union representatives about bearing that sort of risk while also being hermetically sealed off from family for weeks if not months.
Not to burst anyone’s bubble or anything.
The show is still likely to go on, if for no other reason that the National Basketball Players Association has already voted to accept the basics of the plan.
As one of the 22 teams invited to play in the NBA’s Disney games, the Spurs — at least from an organizational standpoint — are raring to go.
“We’re excited to compete and excited to go,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “Obviously, it’s a heavy lift. We really want to commend the league office and the players’ association and commissioner (Adam) Silver for bringing it all together.
“We look forward to getting out there and getting ready to compete.”
There is one Spurs player who will not be forced to endure life in the Disney bubble.
LaMarcus Aldridge, the team’s 34-year-old power forward, has been ruled out for the remainder of the summer after undergoing shoulder surgery in April.
The surgery wasn’t meant to keep Aldridge from having to go through the league’s Disney bubble rigmarole, but that seems to be the side effect.
If and when play does resume in central Florida, the absence of the Spurs’ second-leading scorer could have a profound effect on their chances of earning a playoff berth for an NBA record 23rd consecutive season.
The climb was going to be steep anyhow.
The Spurs will enter play at 2736, in 12th place of the Western Conference standings.
With eight regular-season games committed, it is probably a tall task to hope the Spurs can leapfrog three teams and make up the four games they need to match Memphis for the No. 8 seed.
The Spurs do have a chance to force a play-in for the final postseason spot if they can finish in ninth place and no more than four games out of eighth.
It’s possible, if not probable. In order to accomplish that, the Spurs would need to outplay three teams — Portland, Sacramento and New Orleans — and then beat the eighth-place team (likely Memphis) twice.
Portland might have the inside track, given the Trail Blazers’ familiarity with one another, the talented Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum backcourt combo and the prospect of getting big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins back from the injured list.
New Orleans has presumptive rookie of the year Zion Williamson ready to unleash, plus a young and hungry core that could be difficult to take down in a bubble scenario.
Sacramento was playing as well as anyone in the West at the time the season was suspended.
The Spurs, like other teams in Orlando, will be looking to hit the ground running in a playoff-like situation — while keeping in mind players haven’t played NBA basketball since mid-March.
“First and foremost, we want to go and perform well,” Wright said. “There is going to be a focus on making sure we’re keeping our guys healthy and how we best do that. We want to go and compete and finish the season strong. We’re also going to keep in mind the health and safety of our players and everybody as we return.”
Depth is going to be important, for the Spurs and every other team in Orlando.
Wright said the three-month hiatus seems to have worked wonders for Spurs center Jakob Poeltl, who was nursing a knee sprain when the season was paused. Poeltl will be important with Aldridge out.
It is unlikely Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will want to push players — especially veterans — into heavy minutes after the long layoff.
Younger players up and down the bench will have to show up and play well.
Wright mentioned rookie guard Keldon Johnson — who had been logging consistent minutes before the season was put on hold — as an example of a player who might be given more rope at Disney.
“I think in the last couple weeks of the season, you got to see a bit of Keldon Johnson and what he brings to the table,” Wright said.
“I think you’ll see that growth and development from a lot of our young guys. Coach Pop controls the minutes and he controls the game, but it’s a great chance for them to continue the development process.”
That process is one reason the Spurs were in favor of re-starting the season in some form.
The chance, however outside, to prolong their playoff streak is another.
As Wright noted, even though the basics of a reboot plan have been agreed upon, the league is still far away from actually playing games.
“There’s a lot that has to get done between now and then,” Wright said.
The task of relocating an entire league to central Florida for 3½ months is a tall one for the NBA, and making the playoffs will be tough for the Spurs.
They are grateful for the opportunity to try.