DENVER, CO - APRIL 23: The court is ready for action as the Golden State Warriors prepare to face the Denver Nuggets during Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 23, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)The NBA is making steps towards a return to play. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the current target date for the season restart is now July 30.
That is a slight bump up from the original proposal, which had a return date of July 31. It is not a huge change, but right now we’ll certainly take any improvements. This new date puts a return to action at seven weeks from today.
The NBA will welcome back 22 of the teams, with a few regular season games set to be played to get teams back in game action. That will also help determine the 16 teams that will head to the NBA Playoffs. The league will conduct all games in Orlando, Fla. at Disney’s properties.
Based on the current schedule, the few regular season games and playoffs will run through August and September. The first game of the NBA Finals is set for Sept. 30.
The NBA is targeting a slightly earlier date for the restart of the season in Orlando, sources tell ESPN: July 30.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 11, 2020
Nine teams in the East and 13 teams in the West will head to Orlando. The Washington Wizards will have a chance to crash the eight team playoff field, while the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, and San Antonio Spurs have that opportunity in the West.
Teams will play eight regular season games, in part to determine the final seeds of the playoff. If the ninth seed is within four games of the eight seed on either side of the bracket, the two sides will face off in a play-in series, in which the eighth seed will need to win once, and the ninth-seed twice to make the field.
Here’s what the Eastern Conference standings look like right now:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Toronto Raptors
- Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat
- Indiana Pacers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Orlando Magic
- Washington Wizards
And the Western Conference:
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
- Utah Jazz
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Portland Trail Blazers
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Phoenix Suns
We can’t wait for things to get started down in Florida.
