Despite the successful vote for the NBA to start the 2020-21 season on December 22nd, there is considerable concern about the lack of time between the last season and this coming one for several reasons, reports ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
At just 71 days, it would be the shortest break between seasons of any major North American sport, and presents unique challenges given the ongoing pandemic which upended the league’s usual schedule this past March.
“It’s going to be especially challenging to not only get ready to play Dec. 22 or whatever but to maintain that for a period of four or five months,” related one team’s athletic trainer to Holmes on condition of anonymity.
NEW: Health officials around NBA cautious of 12/22 start, largely because of 72-game slate & travel now involved. It’s tougher for those that just played & those that haven’t since March. “This is going to be another period of unchartered territory." https://t.co/DyWiSkOlaJ
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) November 9, 2020
And it isn’t just concern about conditioning, or even player injury given the short turnaround.
There’s also concern regarding safety precautions in games being played outside of a “bubble” environment — and how reintroducing travel, even in an abbreviated fashion limiting multiple trips to the same market, could complicate things.
Teams which played late into the Disney restart will have to weigh the risks of playing key players with little time to have rested, and teams who were eliminated early — or did not make the trip — could in some instances be even worse off.
Are Celtics among teams hoping to sign-and-trade for Davis Bertans? https://t.co/26pNWnoVd8 via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 9, 2020
Health protocols and having fans in arenas are among several issues still being negotiated, and ESPN anticipates decisions that may add clarity by or before Thanksgiving based on feedback from multiple league sources.
With the pandemic worsening in much of the country, and one of the league’s teams — the Toronto Raptors — potentially needing a temporary home in the U.S. due to international travel restrictions, there may yet be hurdles to such an outcome.
But we’ll grant the league credit after the Disney bubble; even if this may be a more difficult challenge, the league has demonstrated it deserves our trust regarding the logistical capabilities needed to pull things off safely.
