NBA should go straight to the playoffs
The NBA tried to find a perfect plan for its pandemic restart. The NBA went all Three Bears in figuring out how many teams to bring to Orlando for bubble ball.
All 30 teams were too much. Just the 16 playoff teams was too few. Twentytwo teams, every squad with a smidge of a playoff chance, was deemed just right.
But the perfect plan was busted by the perfect storm.
The re-opening of the economy has caused a surge in coronavirus cases, notably in the Orlando metro, home of DisneyWorld, where the NBA convenes.
Plus, the Black Lives Matter protests of the last few weeks has struck a chord with NBA players who see themselves on the forefront of the movement. Some have questioned whether the resumption of NBA basketball could slow the protest momentum.
Mix it all together, and there is a decent amount of reluctance in convening in Orlando to finish out the regular season and the playoffs.
Players can opt out of going to Orlando; their deadline is Wednesday.
Already, Washington's Davis Bertans and Portland's Trevor Ariza have said they won't be rejoining their teams. Both are on teams outside the playoff circle. No surprise there. Players with limited chance of success in Orlando naturally are not excited about going.
Health concerns. Social concerns. Even optical concerns, that athletes are risking their well-being and inconveniencing family members, if not putting them at risk, too, so that billionaire owners can maximize profits in these troubled times.
I get it. The bubble concept is the best way to keep NBA players from contracting
and/or spreading the virus, but these are grown men with lives. The thought of being quarantined, even in a plush environment, does not mesh well.
I see everybody's side. Well, everybody except Kyrie Irving's; the NBA Playoffs would only enhance the platform for Black Lives Matter. But the players' concerns are valid. The owners' financial concerns are valid. The pandemic has created a mess.
So maybe it's time for a compromise. Maybe it's time to scrap the Three Bears. Do what's prudent. Settle for a single instead of swinging for the fences. Lay up in front of the creek instead of trying to reach the green. Shoot the layup.
Adjust the NBA plan to 16 teams. Start with the playoffs. Give each team the requisite practice time, play a few interconference
scrimmages, and go straight to the first round.
Sure, I know every fan, television executive and Cajun cook wants Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans involved. The Pels are in 10th place in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind eighthplace Memphis, and Zion would be a welcome addition to the playoffs, for the eyeballs he would bring to games. Going with some semblance of a regular season (eight games is the plan) would give Zion and New Orleans a chance to catch nondescript Memphis.
But you can't always get what you want. Steph Curry's not going to be in the playoffs. Neither will the Knickerbockers or the Bulls. Heck, the NBA Playoffs were void of LeBron last spring; I think they can survive without a rookie who has played 19 NBA games.
Think of the problems solved by reducing the teams from 22 to 16:
* The games basically would be cut in half. The plan calls for 88 regularseason games; the playoffs could range from 60 games (all sweeps) to 105 games (all sevengame series). Go with the mean, and that's 82.5 games. That abbreviated regular-season finish could mean more games than all the playoffs combined.
* The time demands for the league in full would be sliced by almost three weeks. That's significant for contenders like the Bucks, Clippers or Lakers. The current plan calls for teams starting to arrive in Orlando on July 7, with the playoffs potentially extending to October 13. That's more than three months. But start with the playoffs, and the playoffs easily could end in mid-September, with every team but two finished in August.
* The manpower demands would be cut severely. Six fewer teams means 90 fewer players and more than 200 fewer support
personnel in the bubble. Those six teams are the reason for the 88 regular-season games and the three extra weeks.
The NBA was blessed by the virus' timing. Teams played about 79 percent of their schedules, league-wide. Compare that to baseball, which likely will embark on a 60-game schedule, which is about 37 percent of a normal schedule.
Because of labor strife, the NBA played 66-game schedules in 2011-12 and 50-game schedules in 1999-00. No one looks at those seasons as fraudulent.
The NBA should take heed. Don't try to be perfect. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman. com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at oklahoman. com/berrytramel.