Which NBA teams are most affected if the season is canceled?
NO one escapes the effects of Covid-19. We are all in this together. For the NBA, the obvious answer is any team that has players or staff that turned positive. That’s a given, but let’s talk of basketball implications. Whether it’s positive or negative, these teams would be the most affected if the NBA decides to just cancel the season.
1. Milwaukee Bucks
This team was going for it. The NBA title, league-best record and just before Giannis got injured, they were also gunning for 70 wins. This is the season when it all comes together, and this franchise has never had it this good since Kareem-Abdul Jabbar came into existence.
If the season would be cancelled, the Bucks will still have most of this team intact. However, the NBA championship window is always narrower than one might think. To be the clear favorite, some teams have never seen the light of that day.
This is the best year for them not just because of their team, but also of the teams around them. The Philadelphia 76ers still in disarray, the Golden State Warriors out of commission, they took out two roadblocks to the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Injured players will now have more time to recover, and that is part of this piece.
2. Golden State Warriors
It would be criminal to call anyone “lucky” with the current circumstances. However, you need to call it something. The team that seemed almost unstoppable for the last halfdecade had to stink and rest, and the Warriors had to have their massive stink-bomb this season. Now, it may end up getting cancelled.
The window for their vacation is thin. The team will have Klay Thompson back, they will have Steph Curry with full rest and a lottery pick. Not to mention they have more time to integrate a former first overall pick in Andrew Wiggins.
They managed to find some “uncut gems” during this “experiment” year and they will now join the main guys next year and possibly another first overall pick. They would open the season as the defending Western Conference champions (take that,
Los Angeles!) and would likely be in a position to keep it.
Let’s just call this a dry-run to keep the players in shape until Klay returns. Oh, and please take a lottery pick for all your trouble.
3. LA Clippers
If this were poker, the Clippers placed all their chips on the table and even pawned their car to get the best odds, but for only two chances.
We have discussed this before, that the Clippers paid the ultimate price to get Paul George to eventually signKawhi Leonard. Now, one of those chances could be forfeited. They have a winner-take-all season when they return. No draft picks or trade assets, and the Pacific War is no longer confined in Los Angeles. If they fail, Kawhi and PG may opt out, and the Clippers will not have any pieces or picks to rebuild.
Since they’re in a gambling mood, maybe they should move to Las Vegas (but owner Steve Ballmer already ensured they’re bound to California).
4. Houston Rockets
Some teams lost one of their very few chances, but the Rockets may have been gifted with a new lease on life.
In a way, the Rockets also went gambling. GM Daryl Morey and Coach Mike D’Antoni went under the gun with a tight-fisted owner. Imagine a “Godfather” type of meeting, Morey and D’Antoni justifying how small-ball would work, reasoning that “they never tested the limits of the approach.”
“Fine. I’ll give you one shot. Go all the way, but if it fails, we blow it up.”
The Rockets experiment worked at first, but teams slowly figured it out. They were sliding in a tight playoff race, losing homecourt advantage and might have had to face the LA Clippers in the playoffs.
If the season is cancelled, the Rockets have not failed. They get an offseason to even improve the experiment. At the very least, we have one more season of this unique “Ultimate Small-Ball.”