Is a Sin City Tournament the Only Real Option for 2020 NBA Playoffs?

Typically around this time of the year, the NBA is beginning to wrap up its 82-game season and gearing up for playoffs. This year, however, things have changed drastically. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the country at large, the league was attempting to look for ways to continue on without contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.

Preventing media from entering the locker room, forbidding players from exchanging interactions with fans, and keeping all players and coaches six feet away from media scrums was the first step to keeping everybody safe at first.

There were also initial talks of keeping fans out of arenas, but the NBA never made it that far. By the time that idea was even considered, the spread of COVID-19 amongst NBA players was already starting. So NBA leaders had no choice but to shut the league down.

How long will a world with no professional basketball playing last? Nobody can say. Since the league went on its hiatus, there have been numerous conferences between NBA team owners and league officials. As of Wednesday afternoon, there still isn't any clarity as to when the season will resume. Some say June -- some say July.

Whenever the NBA does come back, though, nothing will be the same for the remainder of the year. There's a good chance that fans have attended their last games for the 2019-2020 season. And there's an even better chance that every NBA matchup will be held in the same arena.

Where might that arena be? All signs point to Las Vegas, Nevada. Other destinations have been considered -- but the familiarity with Vegas seems to make the NBA feel more comfortable. Therefore, the league is "exploring the feasibility of holding its entire postseason in Las Vegas," as Sports Illustrated's own, Chris Mannix, reported.

Picking up the season where it left off would be ideal in a perfect world, but a late return could give the NBA no other option but to fast-forward to the playoffs and tweak the way everything works. "A best-of-five series for the first round, before moving to a one-and-done tournament to determine the two teams that will play in the NBA Finals, which would also be a best-of-five," is a plan that has been thrown out there, according to CNBC's Jabari Young.

But again, nothing is set in stone -- and nothing is off the table. While resuming the season in late June, early July, with a tournament in Las Vegas is picking up tons of steam, the league truly is nowhere near set on finalizing anything at this point, according to Mannix. With so much uncertainty due to the pandemic, the NBA isn't in a position to make a significant decision right now.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_