The Pros and Cons of the NBA's 22-Team Resumption Plan

It has been three months since the National Basketball Association (NBA) has been suspended after a number of NBA players had tested positive to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and since then, there's the question hanging on top of every basketball fan's head: Will the NBA return this year or will they scrap the 2019-2020 season?

Fortunately, the latter won't happen as the NBA Board of Governors has already approved the proposal for the league to resume basketball action on July 31 with only 22 teams: 13 from the Western Conference and nine from the Eastern Conference. And instead of completing the 82-game regular season, each of the 22 teams will play eight regular-season games for the purpose of determining who will move on to the 2020 playoffs. And in the scenario wherein the ninth team in a conference is only down four games or less for the final playoff berth, that team will have to beat the number eight team twice in a play-in series for the final playoff berth while the number eight team will only need to win once.

And while millions of NBA fans will now something to look forward to, it's also important to remember this plan has its pros and cons.

For one, all of the games, including the playoffs, will be held in Disney World in Orlando Florida which is a good move considering the situation that the entire world is facing at this moment.  This will eliminate the need for multiple teams to travel multiple times just to play. With the absence of the need to travel across the United States, the risk of anyone getting infected by COVID-19 becomes smaller, to say the least. Not to mention, only 22 teams will be playing starting July 31 to determine the top 16 teams which means fewer individuals are needed. 

However, Disney World being the sole venue for all of the games took away the homecourt advantage that the Milwaukee Bucks would have enjoyed for finishing with the best record after the regular season. And frankly, that goes for each of the top 16 teams who will play in the playoffs except perhaps for the Orlando Magic and that's assuming they make it that far. 

Also, since COVID-19 is hitting mostly elders especially in the United States, there's a possibility that seniors like Gregg Popovich, Mike D' Antoni, and Alvin Gentry won't be able to coach on the sidelines in Orlando. Popovich is 71 years old. D' Antoni is 69 years old while Gentry is 65 years old. And, there's also the worry about players' fatigue especially those who will be playing in the 2020 NBA Finals as the expected date for Game Seven of the NBA Finals is set on October 12 and since the 2020-2021 regular season is set to open around the first week of December, the preparation time for those teams will be tight. 

Given all the cons that are listed above, we can all agree that the NBA's plan for resumption of NBA action has one important pro to every basketball fan: the NBA is indeed coming back.

Photo is from CBS Sports