ESPN’s Brian Windhorst dropped an interesting piece today on how the Chinese Basketball Association’s drive to cable-jump its season could end up mirroring what the NBA does.
According to Windhorst, the CBA has considered “clustering teams in one or two cities and playing one another in a round-robin format in empty arenas over several weeks.”
CONT.: “The goal has been to play out the remaining schedule in full before moving on to the playoffs, with the hope that fans could eventually be admitted.”
The CBA has been suspended since Jan. 24.
Initially, an April 1 return date was targeted. That has since been pushed back to late-April/early-May.
One similar option the NBA is considering, wrote Windhorst, is to go full-on AAU at a Las Vegas property:
“One is to consider using a sprawling casino property in Las Vegas, where everything could be held under one roof. Others have suggested playing in the Bahamas, where a ballroom could be converted into a playing court specifically for broadcast.”
Or, how about playing NBA games in, say, Iowa?
“There has even been talk of taking over a college campus in the Midwest, where reported cases of COVID-19 are lower for the moment. Whatever the location, it would be a place where teams could sleep, train, eat and, hopefully, be kept healthy enough to have confidence in resuming play -- maybe not to finish out the season but to at least get restarted.”
Ames, Iowa: Where amazing happens. This format, of, for example, the Lakers waiting around in the bleachers for another game to end like the varsity team watching the junior varsity, would be awkward and clumsy, but it would sure beat the fresh hell we’re currently living in.
Let's take this to your inbox. Sign up below.