The NBA considered restarting the season using a 20-team, group-play format, which could’ve given sub-.500 teams the same chance to advance to the second round as the Nuggets. Denver was strongly opposed to such a format, according to multiple league sources, believing that it undermined their success throughout the regular season. All 30 teams were polled in an anonymous GM survey about a potential return-to-play, and the Nuggets voted to go directly to the playoffs, according to two league sources.