If the 2019-20 season ever resumes from its current COVID-19 hiatus, many fans have wondered whether a 2020 NBA champion would have an unofficial “asterisk” next to it. It’s understandable, given the unusual dynamic of a season with a significant delay just before the playoffs.
But as Rockets guard Austin Rivers sees it, the odd circumstances could actually make this year’s champion even more meaningful.
In a Facebook Q&A with Houston broadcaster Craig Ackerman, the 27-year-old guard elaborates on this season’s unique difficulties:
This time off is nothing small. It’s going to be hard. There were teams in a groove. The Lakers, the Bucks. There are these teams that had this momentum. Momentum does not matter anymore. There’s no more momentum.
As such, Rivers believes the key is which teams are using the extended time off since the season’s March 12 suspension to their advantage.
“The team that’s going to win, if this does come back, is going to be the team that had the most collective guys taking this time off seriously,” Rivers says. … Even if they do give us a little bit of a regular season, it’d be like five, six, seven games at max. It won’t be a lot. It’d be something where within a couple weeks, it’ll be done.”
“You only have that time to sharpen your tools, get your team chemistry, and then you’re right into the playoffs,” Rivers adds. “Factor in the no crowds, and it’s just going to be different.”
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Based on those circumstances, Rivers believes this year’s champion could be among the most memorable of all-time.
People have been saying, whoever wins, it’s going to have a blip [asterisk] next to it. I personally believe it’s the complete opposite. Whoever wins, this is so much harder. … Whoever wins this year really had to go get it and earn it, and had guys who took time off seriously and still stayed in shape, and was able to get back the chemistry, true chemistry. So many things. In my eyes, whoever wins this, it’s going to be the hardest championship ever won.
Most reports have indicated that any resumption of the 2019-20 season would likely be without fans in attendance due to health concerns. According to Rivers, that brings its own challenges.
“I’ve never played in a game without fans,” Rivers said. “There’s no more home-court advantage. A lot of things are going to change. Even little things. Free-throw percentages are going to go up. Shooting percentages are going to go up. There’s no more noise and distractions. It’s basically like a scrimmage. There’s a lot of guys who can play in practice, but when the lights are on, it’s just different. Now, there’s no fanbase, there’s no hoopla. It’s just going to be a different game in general.”
Ultimately, Rivers believes that being “different” will add to the legacy of the 2019-20 season — should the NBA resume operations. He says:
It’s going to be so different and weird. I don’t like to say cool, because the circumstances that we’re going through right now are tragic for many people. But it will be interesting that if the season does come back, we will be involved in something that’s never been done before. It’s something that we’ll look back in 10, 20 years from now saying, ‘You remember when we played like this?’ It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be interesting.
With any luck, we could get the opportunity to soon find out.
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