There could be light at the end of the tunnel in this dark time. The global pandemic of the coronavirus has the world stopped with everybody inside in an effort to self-quarantine and flatten the curve to get things back to normal.
The NBA has been in hiatus since March 11 when Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert was tested positive for it. The rest of the sports world followed suit as every league from the NHL to MLB and everywhere in between has suspended operations with the order to stay at home. However, there could be hope around the bend for sports to return.
After first reporting that the NBA was angling to just cancel the 2019-20 season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has pivoted from that report in a video on Sunday morning’s Sportscenter.
As transcribed by Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire, Windhorst said:
They’re spending a lot of time getting a back-to-basketball plan ready. They hope they get to use it.
In talking to executives and trainers around the league, what they’re looking at is a 25-day return to basketball window. … An 11-day series of individual workouts, whether it be social distancing for a period of time. And then hopefully, if the clearance comes that they can play five-on-five basketball, a 14-day training camp.
So as you hope for the country to heal and the virus to get better, look for at least about a three-and-a-half to four-week return date before you’d ever get back to games.
This also comes after Dallas Mavericks managing partner Mark Cuban said that he believes the NBA will return by early June. The 25-day plan would give guys like Al Horford and Joel Embiid some more time together before the season gets back underway and a chance for Ben Simmons, who has not played since February 22, to get some type of basketball activity in.
Whenever the league does resume, they will probably just go straight to the playoffs. For the Philadelphia 76ers, that means they will open up as the 6 seed and face off against the Boston Celtics. This will also mean that it probably will be played in a neutral site such as Las Vegas or maybe even Atlantic City.
Whatever the case may be, this could be the light at the end of the tunnel in order to have some type of normalcy in our lives. [lawrence-related id=29258,29235,29190]