Welcome to the unknown.
The Kings and 21 other NBA teams are about to venture down a path of complete uncertainty. Even almighty commissioner Adam Silver has no idea what the league restart in Orlando will look like, but the league has done its best to implement security measures.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic plaguing the United States, basketball is making a comeback. While the uncertainty is real, we will try to keep it up to date as best we can. These are some of the questions to which we now know the answer.
When does the NBA season resume?
The NBA is now ready to restart the season. It all begins July 30 in Orlando on the Disney campus, but Kings fans will have to wait one more day before seeing their squad on the court.
After nearly four months away, the Kings and Spurs are slated to report on July 31 at 5 p.m. PT. Over a two-week period, the Kings will face a tough schedule, which includes two games against the Pelicans, clashes with both the Mavericks and the Rockets and a game against the best-seeded Lakers to end the season on August 13.
Once the qualifying round ends on August 14 and the play-in games (if necessary) end on August 15-16, the playoff opening round begins on August 17. The conference semifinals are scheduled to begin on August 31. , with the conference finals starting September 15.
The NBA Finals skyrocket on September 30.
What is the return to playback format?
The general format is the same as that of a standard regular season, although the NBA made some adjustments to the schedule. Instead of finishing a full 82 game schedule, the teams will play a total of eight games, which will be added to their current ranking.
The 22 teams were allowed to maximize their roster by 15 players and bring in up to two two-way players for a total of 17 players. Teams can also replace players who are choosing to break out of the NBA bubble.
The Kings are one of five teams in the Western Conference chasing the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth and last place in the playoffs, but there is a twist.
The 22 teams in the Orlando bubble will play eight regular-season games to end the 2019-20 season. If the eighth seed has a four-game lead in the standings, they will advance directly to the playoffs, where they will face the No. 1 overall seed. If the ninth place team is within three and a half games, there is a game tournament. between the eighth and ninth place team.
According to the rules for this season, the eighth seed has a double elimination, while the ninth seed has a single elimination. If No. 8 wins the first game, they advance. If No. 9 wins Game 1, they will play a second game, and the winner will go on to face No. 1 overall seed from August 15-16.
All playoff series are scheduled for seven games, with individual days of rest between each game.
What teams will be in the playoffs?
In the Western Conference, the top seven seeds are basically locks to make the playoffs. They can move up and down at seed, but it would take a catastrophic end to the season for the Dallas Mavericks to drop to No. 8 and have to play in the play-in game.
Memphis has seed number 8 when the restart begins. If they had to play the full 82 game schedule, their chances of making the playoffs were slim with five teams chasing them for No. 8. But on the short restart, 3 1/2 games is a lot of ground to make up for a stretch of eight. games.
Except for a complete collapse, the Grizzlies will be the double elimination team for the game (s) of play. Of the remaining teams, the Pelicans have the easiest path to the playoffs, but the Blazers have the added advantage of being slightly ahead in the standings because they have played two additional games.
Sacramento is in the race, but the league’s decision to add the Lakers to the end of its schedule was brutal. San Antonio is half a game behind the pack, but they are at a disadvantage because they play one game less this season and the fact that LaMarcus Aldridge is on the shelf.
Phoenix is two and a half games behind the three teams tied for ninth place and six games behind the Grizzlies. They would have to jump over four teams and make up 2 1/2 games in the Grizzlies to have a chance.
The Eastern Conference is much simpler. Washington follows the Magic for 5 1/2 games and the Nets for 6 games. Brooklyn does not have all its star power, and will be lucky to crawl to the finish line in eighth place. The Wizards would need a lot of luck to make it to 3 1/2 games at No. 8, especially since Davis Bertans decided not to join the bubble.
Upon entering the seed tournament, the Kings face +1200 odds for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference (meaning a bet of $ 100 would win you $ 1,200). They currently have three players who tested positive for the coronavirus, but all three are expected to make it to Orlando.
2020 NBA League Schedule
The schedule is quite simple. All teams play a total of eight games as of July 30, which is called the “seed round.” Teams will play every other day, except for a series of consecutive games.
Sacramento has a 10:30 am PT game against the Pelicans on August 6 and a game against the Nets at 2 pm on August 7. In a normal environment, it would be a difficult stretch, but Brooklyn is exhausted entering the tournament.
After the selection round, there is a short two-day period for possible games up for grabs from August 15-16. After the 16 playoff teams are established, the first round of the playoffs will begin on August 17.
All rounds remain the best of seven series.
Odds of winning the 2020 NBA Championship
The Lakers are favored to win it all, but Avery Bradley’s trade for JR Smith, and the uncertainty surrounding Dwight Howard, is pursuing the ring’s closure. The Oddsmakers have the Bucks slightly behind LA. Sacramento is in the middle of the bet on the way to arrive as the eighth seed, but enter as +50000 to win everything (the bet of $ 100 wins you $ 50,000).
Lakers +240
Dollars +250
Clippers +333
Rockets +1300
Celtics +2000
Raptors +2200
Nuggets +2500
76ers +2800
Heat +3000
Jazz +3300
Mavericks +4000
Pacers +10000
Thunder +10000
Pelicans +12500
Trail Blazers +15000
Grizzlies +25000
Networks +30000
Magic +30000
Magicians +30000
Soles +50000
Reyes +50000
Spurs +50000
