Tag: FIFA World Cup

There will be no loud drums, people, or large tifos in the crowd, but there’s a very real possibility that when the NBA returns, it’s format could look at lot like the FIFA World Cup. Among the current proposals, everything from a shortened regular season of 72 or 76 games to a soccer-style group play format is on the table. ESPN and The Ringer both did extensive reporting on what a World Cup-style tournament might look like. And we’ve already had one superstar, Portland’s Damian Lillard, go on the record that he won’t play in games if his Blazers aren’t given a real opportunity to get into the postseason.

So there is a lot of pressure on the NBA, from a lot of sides, to get this right and one way of doing it may be to do something they’ve never done before. Using a random number generator, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor proposed what a 20-team, four group field may look like when the NBA tries to come back. ESPN also reported that they have outlined plans for pool play that could include all 30 teams.

This does look pretty fun!

(h/t @KevinOConnorNBA) pic.twitter.com/NfoVZnbk4Z

— E. García Gundersen (@Erik_Gundersen) May 26, 2020

For the NBA, having an expanded playoff field, adding the four teams on the bubble in the Western Conference, may provide the best quality of play while also making sure you have more teams, leading to eight games for each team.  It could also help the majority of the teams fulfill the obligations of broadcasting 7 games for their television contracts. The Lakers had the most games remaining to get to 70 in the league, having played only 63. A group stage would get them to 70, allowing the league to keep the revenue from regional sports networks. It’s unclear what might be done in this scenario if the other 10 teams aren’t invited to the bubble.

Also, in the case of the Blazers and the Pelicans, they have two great players and well-known draws in Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson. Also, a healthy Portland team with their starting frontcourt back on the court again could add even greater intrigue, as last year’s Western Conference Finalists had a down regular season, mostly due to injury. The Spurs, Pelicans, and Blazers also had their easiest stretches of the schedule left remaining, while Memphis had the hardest remaining schedule in the league with just less than a month to go.

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