Competing with MLB makes sense
Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Courier Times
The NBA is willing to complete the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs as late as the end of September. The league probably doesn’t have a choice.
The players should be and apparently are interested in what amounts to a lengthy second training camp after what might end up being a threemonth layoff, to help alleviate injury concerns that could be created by returning too quickly once COVID-19 testing is deemed adequate and the coronavirus pandemic has subsided.
A possible timeline would be for camp to take up most of June, with the final month of the regular season concluding in July and the postseason lasting through August and September.
The games would almost surely be played in empty arenas, with Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas likely splitting the league’s 30 teams and the players staying in hotels.
While the regular season typically starts in mid- to late October, the league would push the 2020-21 campaign until Christmastime. It’s unclear if that means next season would be shortened to get back on its normal schedule.
What I find especially interesting is the NBA appears intrigued with competing more against MLB and less versus the NFL, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. That would seem to be a favorable trade for Commissioner Adam Silver and the league.
The NFL is king. Even with teams playing once a week, media coverage is extensive and constant, and games are televised on Thursdays and Monday nights, as well as all day Sunday. MLB has no such hold on the American people.
It wouldn’t be a complete surprise if Silver, who hosted a call with the NBA players’ union
Friday in which he covered a variety of topics, and the league opt to continue with what this year’s timeline would be. It makes a great deal of sense. By starting the season at Christmas, the league would play only roughly 20 games by the time of the Super Bowl in early February. That’d leave spring training and the bulk of the MLB season as the primary major professional competition in the U.S.
By avoiding the NFL for an additional two months, television ratings and home attendance – once fans are permitted at NBA venues again – should increase, which would mean more money for the owners and the players.
Given the millions of dollars that won’t be recouped this season from not having fans at games, even if a champion is crowned, that would undoubtedly appeal to all concerned.
Also, the league wouldn’t have to abbreviate any future seasons if it continues with a December to August or September schedule.
NBA arena availability shouldn’t be an issue, either, since most big, summer concerts tend to be outdoors. If the NHL returns to its traditional schedule after this year, there would actually be more open dates in buildings hosting teams from both sports.
One potential concern for the NBA could be the warm summer temperatures resulting in some condensation in arenas such as Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia,
JAE C. HONG/AP
where the hockey ice sits beneath the basketball court.
The season wouldn’t coincide with college basketball as much, plus the draft and start of free agency would have to be pushed back to accommodate the later end of the pro season, but none of those should be deal-breakers.
Players wouldn’t have their summer off, which would be an adjustment.
Perhaps the league will decide to shorten the 2020-21 campaign and then revert to its customary schedule. That would be the safe thing to do.
While there are clearly no guarantees in a COVID-19 world, sticking with the later start and later finish to the NBA season would merit consideration.