How will the NBA playoffs take place? Beyond that, there are also the possibilities of wide open. It depends on when play resumes, which is a major unknown due to the coronavirus crisis.
Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, pushed for a play-in tournament during normal times. The concept holds some appeal as how to line the post-season field with no completing a full season.
The NBA should draw some long-term lessons from this state of affairs that the entire world is the wrong way up.
However, don’t expect it.
A play-in tournament may be a good idea in present time or in normal times. One has almost nothing to try to to with the opposite.
If the NBA is planned to host games for all teams, it should consider the way to generate enthusiasm with lottery-bound clubs. It is not there naturally.
Luckily for the NBA league, there is a well-defined top eight in the standings of every conference. Teams presently outside playoff position would have only minimal room to gripe if they are not afforded a chance to make the playoffs.
That is not fair to the Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Kings, who are in striking distance of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference. Those four teams had easier remaining schedules than Memphis.
Someone supports a single-elimination play-in tournament between those five teams for the Western Conference. Reward the Grizzlies with a good bye to the final, where they would face the winner of a Portland-New Orleans-Sacramento-San Antonio bracket.
A play-in tournament like that would achieve a lot of goals. It would generate excitement and revenue. It would also be a good way to test the novel coronavirus prevention protocols with a limited number of people.
The league should be reopen to radical one-time solutions in this unexpected situation. Don’t worry about how it would translate to future years since those will be so different.