Details of NBA's Schedule After Returning to Play Revealed
By Scott Rogust
After a two-month hiatus, hoops fans got the great news on Wednesday. The NBA is expected to approve their 22-team return-to-play plan and we know the squads that will be participating in the resumed season at Walt Disney World. Now, for the schedule!
According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports, teams will continue their schedule as planned by playing their next eight games. However, if a team happens to match up against non-playoff teams, they'll move onto the next game.
The plan is for teams to continue their schedule as planned, with the next 8 games. If team is scheduled to play Hawks/Bulls/Pistons, it moves onto the next game on schedule, league sources tell Yahoo Sports
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) June 3, 2020
This plan works out perfectly. Each team has played around 65 of their 82 games, so it's not like this will be a significant decrease.
For example, the Brooklyn Nets were slated to play the Golden State Warriors before the league shut its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since the Warriors weren't invited to Orlando, the Nets will skip over them and instead face the Los Angeles Clippers in their first game back.
The NBA's return plan includes 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams.
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 3, 2020
Here's who's in, according to @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/8s0qYYgLtt
The top eight teams of each conference will earn a spot in the playoffs. The West has five extra teams, while the East has just one. If the No. 9 seed is more than four games behind the No. 8 seed, then the No. 8 team clinches a playoff berth. If the No. 9 team is fewer than four games behind a playoff spot, then a play-in game will commence.
But when it comes to scheduling, teams will be facing eight opponents that will make the trip with them to Disney World. It's that simple.