When the Boston Celtics come back to finish the 2019-20 NBA season, don’t expect them to pick up right where they left off.
Yahoo Sports Keith Smith reports the NBA is very unlikely to try and restart the schedule that was on tap before the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into the works for the currently suspended season.
You may also have heard ESPN’s Brian Windhorst talking about 70 games as a benchmark the league needs to get teams to. This is so important broadcast rights revenue crosses a threshold to secure much-needed payouts for those contracts in a season already missing gate receipts.
This is coming up a lot with the NBA resuming with some form of the regular season: I would not expect teams to play the schedule as it was previously planned.
Meaning: Don't say Team X has 4 games to go until 70 games, here are the next 4 games. Very unlikely to go that way.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 22, 2020
That benchmark is real, and probably represents the low-water mark the league plans on getting to, but we should expect the possibility of more regular season games to be attempted even among the teams closest to that magic number.
According to Smith, other rules may be relaxed or altered as well — G League players like Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters might be available for the Celtics all the way through the playoffs, and expanding active rosters from 13 to 15.
In short, expect the unexpected in these extraordinary times.
The resumption of the season is likely to take place in just one or two locations, with reports suggesting both the former and the latter circulating, Las Vegas, Nevada and especially Disney World in Orlando, Florida among leading options.
Report: Disney in 'serious talks' w/ NBA as location to restart season https://t.co/rL8ZCVe5rO via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 20, 2020
But if Boston won’t be playing out the full schedule as it was, how many more games and against whom might they play?
Truthfully, we have no idea. But, we can also make an educated guess. On Friday, Smith reported that every team in the league save the Los Angeles Lakers need six games or less to hit that magic number of 70 games, the laggard Lakers needing a seventh.
So, six games seems a reasonable number of contests for most franchises; let’s take a look at who they might be.