How a Condensed 82-Game '20-'21 Season Could Affect the LA Clippers
The coronavirus pandemic will end up affecting more than one NBA regular season.
According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the NBA is considering condensing the 2020-2021 regular-season to try to keep as close to the typical timeline as possible while still playing a full 82-game schedule. That could mean an increase in the number of back-to-backs as well as instances of teams playing four games in five nights.
That would be a death sentence for the LA Clippers.
The 2020-2021 season is (tentatively) scheduled to begin on December 1, while the last possible date for Game 7 of the NBA Finals is slated for October 12. That leaves about a month and a half for Finals participants to go through their typical offseason routine — a period that's usually over four months long.
Not only would that increase the risk of injury for players that made it deep into the postseason, but it leaves little time for on-the-move players to get acquainted with their new teams and roles.
Additionally, more back-to-backs would mean the NBA would be producing a lesser product, as stars like Kawhi Leonard rely on those nights for injury management.
It's hard to imagine this idea becoming a reality. It would certainly be more profitable than limiting the number of games played, but there's hardly a chance that the league's Board of Governors or National Basketball Player's Association would approve it.
As far as the players are concerned, the best-case scenario would be pushing back the start date a few weeks (say, early- to mid-January) and limiting the number of games to 50. The lockout-shortened 1998-1999 season, for example, included a 50-game schedule and ran from February 5 - May 5.
Regardless of what decision is made, the NBA will look very different next year as the league continues to recover from the coronavirus shutdown.
