2020 has been anything but normal, but with the NBA season starting to resume what can we expect? Many believe that this season deserves an asterisk and should not count, but how much did we really miss this year?
Before Covid put a major halt to all sports each NBA team played an average of 64.5 games this year. After the remaining 8 games of the "regular season" have come to a conclusion, all remaining NBA teams will have played right around 75 games this year. With the standard NBA season consisting of 82 games did we really miss that much? No, not really, over 91% of your typical regular season would have been played.
But what about the coveted 8 seed, and the possibility of not having the best teams in the playoffs?
Another argument some will speculate about this unorthodox season is that with the season being shortened some teams will lose out on their opportunity to make the playoffs. This couldn't be further from the truth with the way the NBA will handle the remainder of the regular season. Every team who mathematically had an opportunity to make the playoffs has been invited to compete.
But how exactly will this work?
It's a lot less complex than you'd think. Simply put if the team with the eighth-best record in its conference is more than 4 games ahead of the team with the ninth-best record in the same conference then there will be no play in tournament, but if the regular season ends and the ninth seed is within 4 games or less of that final playoff spot a play in tournament will ensue.
How does the play in tournament work?
The play in tournament in pretty straightforward as well. The team currently holding the 8 seed will get a one game advantage in a best of three tournament. So to make that simple the 9 seed would have to win back-to-back games over the 8 seed to take that final seed, while the 8 seed would only have to win one game.
You still following me?!
So with all these adjustments does it still add up to be a legitimate season? My perspective, absolutely. The only thing that this new format will manifest is getting the NBA's hottest teams at the time into the playoffs, and if you're a 1 seed that could end up impacting your playoff run. This NBA season will be the total equalizer for all teams. The only teams that do not benefit, and if anything lose out on, are the higher seeds. All 1-4 seeds from both the East and the West will no longer be given their prize of home-court advantage anymore. So now it's put up or shut up, no fans, no distractions, just basketball..and I don't know about you but I couldn't be more excited!
So are we really missing ANYTHING from this semi-shortened season?!
We can't end this without mentioning the one person that the NBA was unable to properly send off, and that person is the one and only Vince Carter! Unfortunately for Vince his current team the Atlanta Hawks didn't make it to the Orlando bubble so his final season has been cut short. That doesn't go without saying that his over 2 decade long run in the NBA was something special, and he's still the meanest dunker to ever live!
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