2020 End of Season / Playoffs

[DogeLover1234]

The PA signed off on this, which they wouldn't have done without support. My guess is that this all looked much better in April and May but players are watching the world move on and wondering why they are going into a "bubble" for 2-3 months starting in July when everything around them is returning to normal. You also have a lot of guys just looking at the immediate impact on them and not the big picture of how not coming back affects the league, salaries, etc.

As I posted earlier, glad the NBA is back but this whole thing has the potential to look really foolish in September when the SEC teams have 80,000 fans at games, NFL stadiums are full, and the NBA players are cloistered in a second-rate gym playing in silence.

I mean I imagine you are right and players probably said theyd like to play in theory, before the logistics where discussed and now its less appealing. That being said its also just difficult to manage everyones interests in this. Im sure some guys just want to be with family, some guys take the virus more serious, some wanna get out and enjoy themselves like you mention. Everyone wants something and its gotta be hard for the NBA to pick and choose who can get what when it effects everyone so it looks like they are airing on the side of caution. Who knows what reality looks like though.

Even if they could open stadiums perfectly fine and college football does, its still a win if basketball is the first or second major sport on TV and lose all the in person fans for twice the TV viewership with smaller risk of a reshutdown.

[Apollo]

The most fair thing the league can do is say: we're playing the NBA playoffs and we're awarding the championship. You can either choose to participate or not but if you don't, you don't get paid because you opted out. If you opt in, here are the conditions which qualify you to play.

Any team who thinks they can win will be there. The other teams were wasting their time anyway.

It could be that simple. It should be that simple. It's sort of looks that simple but its really not. The NBA has made this too complicated and I think it is because the owners want their money and truly they don't care what the players want.

[007]

Who's ready for slim Jokic?

[bertarapsfan]

Video show Jokic looking about as Skinny as the Gasol photo. I wonder if these guys who use there weight specifically Jokic may not be the same player as before he uses his weight alot in the post. Marc doesn't post up as much anymore so it should be that much of a problem for him

[bertarapsfan]

Who's ready for slim Jokic?

lol i was posting about this at the same time. I dont know if skinny Jokic is good or not. He was a little to big before but i think he should have a little more weight then that photo for post ups

[Apollo]

Who's ready for slim Jokic?

Geez, I thought that was Porzingis at first glace. He has lost a lot of weight. It's risky to try this stuff being dropped into meaningful games right out of the gate. This isn't training camp. It'll be interesting to see what happens. For Gasol it's a bit different where he's a lot older, was troubled by injuries, is only a role player, etc.

[slaw]

I mean I imagine you are right and players probably said theyd like to play in theory, before the logistics where discussed and now its less appealing. That being said its also just difficult to manage everyones interests in this. Im sure some guys just want to be with family, some guys take the virus more serious, some wanna get out and enjoy themselves like you mention. Everyone wants something and its gotta be hard for the NBA to pick and choose who can get what when it effects everyone so it looks like they are airing on the side of caution. Who knows what reality looks like though.

Even if they could open stadiums perfectly fine and college football does, its still a win if basketball is the first or second major sport on TV and lose all the in person fans for twice the TV viewership with smaller risk of a reshutdown.

Oh yeah, you can't please everyone and in any return you are going with the lowest common denominator cause you don't have a choice as a big organization. I'm not really sure what was feasible for the NBA or even what other options were on the table. My only point is that it due to circumstance and logistics, etc. this plan feels very much like a May plan but starting in August and that has the potential to end up being a miscalculation.

I'm also not against players who don't want to go either but, in the end, I imagine 99% of guys will go cause guys won't want to leave their teammates to go through it without them.

[KeonClark]

Who's ready for slim Jokic?

damn I thought it was Porzingis for a minute. Slim Joker

[planetmars]

Good for him. I've always had a soft spot for him. I think he'll be better not worse. A much better Porzingis which is a scary thought.

[golden]

The most fair thing the league can do is say: we're playing the NBA playoffs and we're awarding the championship. You can either choose to participate or not but if you don't, you don't get paid because you opted out. If you opt in, here are the conditions which qualify you to play.

Any team who thinks they can win will be there. The other teams were wasting their time anyway.

It could be that simple. It should be that simple. It's sort of looks that simple but its really not. The NBA has made this too complicated and I think it is because the owners want their money and truly they don't care what the players want.

That mindset is so 1950's. The players ARE owners. People keep forgetting this point. Even better than owners - they split the revenues, but don't share the burden of costs. A split of topline revenue is exponentially better than even an equity stake in some cases. And the players get extra money (sometimes far exceeding their revenue split.

I would guess that most of the players want their money.... but some of the elite players who are financially set for generations, and/or have lucrative endorsement deals that don't depend on them having to play, wouldn't mind chilling for awhile until Covid blows over.

[inthepaint]

i like the sounds of that... have wanted to see more of that lineup

Me too; I've looked forward to that lineup since the Gasol trade. It's a defensive powerhouse that can make it extremely difficult for the other team. The only thing is that to make it work offensively Gasol (playing in the high post) and OG need to be confident from 3, otherwise you're hurting the space.

But defensively, man, that can literally force the opponent into long draughts and turn games around in our favour handily; all opponent plays that call for switches are mucked up, and it also makes it very difficult to run pick and roll on even drive-n-kicks because when you have OG at the two and Siakam as SF, they're fast and long enough to contest the three, while also helping pack the paint. Dealing with both Gasol and Serge inside, plus Lowry pesking around in the perimeter right at the beginning of the play, oof. Tough.

[The Great One]

damn I thought it was Porzingis for a minute. Slim Joker

Shit I thought it was Porzingis too.

Your boy lookin slim bertarapsfan

[The Great One]

Ok I have a question. Let's say some players stay home the rest of this season. This thing is not gonna go away next season. Would they stay home the rest of next season too? The scientists are saying that vaccine won't be ready for a year/a year and a half. So we're talkin April-June - likely all of next season.

What if we just never develop a vaccine for Covid-19? would they just retire?

[The Great One]

40-50 players are undecided on going to Orlando to resume the NBA season according to Woj. That's uhhh......A LOT.

[inthepaint]

That mindset is so 1950's. The players ARE owners. People keep forgetting this point. Even better than owners - they split the revenues, but don't share the burden of costs. A split of topline revenue is exponentially better than even an equity stake in some cases. And the players get extra money (sometimes far exceeding their revenue split.

I would guess that most of the players want their money.... but some of the elite players who are financially set for generations, and/or have lucrative endorsement deals that don't depend on them having to play, wouldn't mind chilling for awhile until Covid blows over.

^That pretty much sums it up. Like everywhere else there's probably a range of opinions between different teams, and even within the same team. On one extreme you might have some guys not seeing the benefit outweighing the trouble, while others are itching to go back and work, play basketball, and continue to build the careers.

Maybe easier said then done but I think the easiest way is to leave it to individual players; If you want to stay home, you get your pay cut short, maybe get a raised eyebrow from a teammate, lose visibility/exposure for future deals, but then get your wish. Those who are back get their full pay, and credit from the fans and league for getting out there to help bring the NBA back.

You gotta respect every personal decision, but at the end of the day, this "bubble" will be one of the most protected and safest spaces in the U.S. by the time August rolls around. Tests everyday, strict control of who comes in and out, health professionals all around, scrutinized catered food etc.. If you're a player, unless you'll be locked up in a room watching netflix for 3 months, you're probably safer in the bubble then doing whatever it is you'd be doing if you weren't there. Heck the BLM protests half these guys participated in (rightfully so), had nowhere near the layers of protection this bubble would have.

Matter of fact, I think it might turn out like slaw mentioned earlier: as restrictions everywhere in the world ease by the week, by August the whole bubble thing might actually look silly/out of place, with maybe even other leagues coming back with full stadiums within weeks.