The NBA has finally figured out its return-to-play format and there will be no round-robin or group play, but there will be 22 teams going to Walt Disney World to play eight regular season games each before moving on to the playoffs, which will be organized in a traditional East-West fashion, according to multiple reports on Wednesday.
But given the extraordinary nature of the situation, they also added a new twist that will add even more intrigue: a play-in tournament for the 8th seed in each conference that is triggered if the 9th seed team is within four games of the 8th seed. The plan is expected to be passed in Thursday’s Board of Governors vote, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
So the NBA's inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify.
The NBA's back.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 3, 2020
However, the 8th seeds will have an extra advantage of needing to be beaten twice to lose their seed, while the 9th seed is in a single-elimination position.
Play-in tournament in NBA's 22-team format would only be for 8th seed, per sources:
– If 9th seed is 4 or more games back, 8th seed earns spot
– If 9th seed is 4 or fewer games behind, play-in: Single-elimination for 9th seed, double-elimination for 8th.https://t.co/d7X3X6d1p8— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 3, 2020
What does this all mean for LeBron James and the Lakers? Well, they will have probably two weeks of regular season games to lead into the playoffs, as well as however long a play-in tournament would take. They won’t have homecourt advantage because they will be in Orlando and they will have to play whoever the winner of the 8th seed is. But there is a significant chance that they don’t end up playing the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently have the 8th seed.
The Grizzlies currently have a 3.5 game lead for the 8th seed ahead of 9th place Portland. Sacramento, New Orleans, and San Antonio are all behind Portland by .001 in win-percentage, because they have played more games. With the current situation, teams will not end up playing the same amount of games, but that’s the kind of awkwardness the NBA is welcoming with a truncated regular season and traditional playoff rather than a completely new format.
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