Knicks Roundup 4/26: Team Practice Facilities to be Opened If Allowed by State
Adrian Wojnarowski reported today that starting on Friday May 1st, some NBA teams will be re-opening their practice facilities for players to use. This is only affecting teams who play in states where the restrictions allow for this kind of action. Wojnarowski's full article for ESPN can be found here. Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote that this will not apply immediately to the Knicks because New York Governor Cuomo's lockdown is set to end on May 15th. Berman added that an NBA source told him that "at least a couple" of Knicks players would be thrown off by the concept of flying back to New York City, where the coronavirus is most prominent in the United States, if conditions didn't seem to be improving soon.
Players will be able to use the facilities on a voluntary basis but this usage is limited to individual workouts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. From what we've seen so far in terms of restrictions from Governor Cuomo would indicate that this would align with his likely stance on the subject of re-opening practice facilities.
Berman added in his article that most of the Knicks are scattered across the country. If a Knick happens to be self-quarantining in a state in which restrictions allow players to practice individually in team facilities, it will be interesting to see if that player can request permission from another team to be able to practice in their facility.
This news is excellent to hear for those hoping for a return to sports that would come as soon as possible without jeopardizing the health of anybody. This could certainly be a promising first step towards games being played again in just a few months, even if that means that this will be without any fans in attendance.
If the 2020 NBA regular season is not resumed, which seems like a possibility due to the need to get back on schedule to begin the 2021 season somewhat on time, the Knicks will not be playing again until that 2021 season starts. Although this may be disappointing to fans hoping to see the team play again, prioritizing the playoff teams makes sense and the non-playoff teams are fine to be sacrificed for their benefit.
Hopefully, fans will be back in the seats of Madison Square Garden soon to cheer on their (sometimes) beloved Knicks. The fact that their players will soon be able to begin practicing once again should be seen as a step towards that final outcome.
