On Sunday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the NBA was considering a 25-day “return to basketball” plan, should the league receive approval from U.S. health authorities to resume play.
The 2019-20 season has been on an indefinite hiatus since March 12 amid the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
That 25-day timetable is reportedly quicker than what many NBA executives athletic training staffers would like after such a long layoff. But given calendar constraints and the league’s desire to start the next season (2020-21) without too much of a delay, it might be necessary.
As far as Rockets GM Daryl Morey is concerned, that’s not a big concern. While ideally Houston would have more time before playing games in the regular season or playoffs, Morey said there’s no competitive disadvantage because all teams would face the same headwind.
Speaking Monday night on an Instagram Live session with Cayleigh Griffin and television partner AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Morey said:
People aren’t going to be back in NBA shape. My guess — and this is up to the commissioner and the plans they’re putting together — is we’re going to have to shorten any plans to a tighter window than people are going to be comfortable with.
The reality is, it’s not going to make that big of a difference. You want to get the quality [of play] high enough, but because everyone’s going to be dealing the same ramp up [in activity], there won’t be any relative advantage developed between the teams.
Maybe even the first couple of games aren’t perfect, but both teams are going to be dealing with the same thing. … We’re all going to have to do our best in a probably shortened time period.
Safety first for @dmorey!!… or something like that 🤣
Big thank you to Daryl for joining us on @ATTSportsNetSW Instagram Live. He provided some great insight into the Rockets and NBA.. convo is live on AT&T SportsNet’s Instagram for 24 hours! pic.twitter.com/PFuBTpGJ1U
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) April 13, 2020
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As for Morey, he’s doing his part to help expedite a return to normalcy for the NBA and beyond. Instead of his usual travel for basketball scouting purposes, he said he’s following the advice of health professionals by staying at home these days and focusing on video work.
“It’s a serious crisis, but thankfully what we’re being asked to do — we’re not having to take a hill or storm Normandy, thankfully. So I think if we all focus and do the right things, we’re going to get through this stronger. And the Rockets will be back in hopefully not too long. We’ll see.”
While an extended layoff before the NBA playoffs followed by quickly ramping up activity isn’t normal, it’s a problem Morey and the Rockets will gladly take on if it means the season is able to resume.
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