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The National Basketball Association (NBA) may not know when – or if – play will resume this season, but the league reportedly has a plan to get players into game shape and onto the court should that day come.
According to a report by ESPN on Sunday night, the NBA has a “25-day plan” that would kick in once the league sets a return date from the coronavirus-induced shutdown and would conclude with players ready to play regular-season games again.
While the regular season was into its business end – there was around a month remaining before the suspension – just three play-off spots have been nailed down in the Eastern Conference and only one in the West, meaning there is still plenty at stake for most teams.
“They’re spending a lot of time getting a back-to-basketball plan ready,” ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst said during a TV interview of what league officials have been working on in recent days.
“What they’re looking at is a 25-day return-to-basketball window… An 11-day series of individual workouts, where there would be social distancing for a period of time, and then hopefully… a 14-day training camp.”
But given that the teams have not been on a court since March 11, some general managers and trainers have expressed concern over whether a two-week training camp will be sufficient to adequately prepare their players for a return to competitive action.
An athletic training staff involved with NBA teams in the East, who declined to be named, told ESPN: “You’ve got some players that are privileged enough to be isolating in their luxury mansions with full gyms and practically built their own Olympic training centres. And you’ve got some people that are isolating in their 1,200 sq ft apartment or at their parents’ house.
“That’s the range of the 450-some odd players in the NBA… You have to make the determination at the lowest common denominator.”
While everything remains up in the air, one thing that does appear certain is that fans are unlikely to be permitted back into arenas soon.
Last week, Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson told CNN that players will “adjust” to empty stands and on Sunday, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reiterated the likelihood of closed-door games until the “science” is in place to assuage worries over the Covid-19 disease.
The billionaire told Fox News: “Initially, we’ll play just for the TV cameras, with essential personnel and players. That’s a great thing, because we need things to cheer for…
“As the league restarts, we won’t do anything to jeopardise the safety of our players or employees.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said the league does not plan to make any decisions regarding the calendar until at least May 1.
With the play-offs expected to be completed in about two months, he has acknowledged the start of the 2020-21 regular season, which normally begins in October, could be affected as well.
REUTERS
