8 spot. The 16 playoff teams will draft in inverse order of their combined records across regular-season games and seeding games.October 16. The 2020–21 NBA season will be the 75th season of the National Basketball Association. It will be the same. 8 seed. 8 seed in each conference as well, which would be triggered by the No. The organization may be able to bolster its title chances by Bobby Marks pointed out that a number of the eliminated franchises currently have open roster spots and may also opt to sign some players despite not participating in the rebooted regular season and playoffs:Expect the 2020 NBA Playoffs to be nothing short of riveting despite the circumstances that will limit the games to one location and without fans in attendance. The restart of the 2020 NBA regular season will be a 16-day affair beginning on July 31, with five to six games played per day during that span and each team playing one back-to-back. After three years of writing, II've been working in the realm of sports my entire career, starting as a breaking news writer right out of Arizona State University. Those teams would match up in a series where the stronger record side would need just one win to secure their position in the 2020 NBA Playoffs, while the lower team would have to win two games in a row to usurp the spot. The Nets were by far the biggest movers during the suspension, jumping from 750-1 to win the 2020 NBA Finals all the way up to 60-1 at some shops. 9 team finishing within four games of the No. The restart of the 2020 NBA regular season will be a 16-day affair beginning on July 31, with five to six games played per day during that span and each team playing one back-to-back. The teams at the top of the board haven’t changed much, as the Los Angeles Lakers are still the slight favorites to win the 2020 NBA Finals at +220, odds that mean one would net $2.20 for each $1 wagered on the team winning a record-tying 17The cross-town rival Los Angeles Clippers are just a hair behind the Lakers at +275. This squad was prone to bouts of disjointed and inconsistent play, however, and could be impacted more than others by the long layoff and neutral venue that will host the postseason. The Boston Celtics have the next-best odds to win the 2020 NBA Finals, but the C’s are just +1200 to break through and capture their first title since the “Big Three” era in 2008. The Finals will also be shortened down to games every other day, which means it will take less than two weeks—Game 7 would take place no later than October 12—to determine a champion after the conference finals wrap up.

Due to Giannis’ further improvement and an elite supporting cast, Milwaukee was an NBA-best 53-12 prior to the shutdown and was well on pace to surpass the 60 wins the franchise tallied up last year, a campaign in which they took the eventual champion Raptors to six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The club that appeared to be the biggest wild card going into the final eight games of the NBA season was the Brooklyn Nets.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 27: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James Pro basketball is officially on its way back after it was announced last week that operations will resume this summer and a conclusion to the 2020 NBA season will be reached. The 2020-2021 NBA regular season will tentatively start on Tuesday, December 1st and tentatively end Wednesday, April 14th. NBA return timeline, key dates: League sets schedule for season restart, draft, free agency, start of 2020-21 The NBA has set a time frame for its return, and everything that comes after The conference semifinals begin August 31. One of LA’s biggest red flags this year is home/road splits, as the team has gone 26-7 at the Staples Center (a record that includes one ‘road’ game against the Lakers) and just 18-13 away from it. Giannis improved as a three-point shooter during the 2019-2020 season as well, canning 1.5 treys on 4.8 attempts per game, both career highs. 7 or No.

These teams will be seeded in the lottery and assigned odds based on their records through March 11. The dynamic duo led the Clips to a respectable 44-20 record together, the fourth-best mark in the NBA. The lottery is scheduled to be held on August 25, with the draft itself slated for October 15. There is a potential of a play-in tournament for the No.

The team was on a tear before the shutdown, going 7-1 over the final eight games. I'm now combining both of these experiences together to come up with some great content for you to enjoy at Forbes!Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the odds-on favorite to capture his second straight NBA MVP Award, has been having a monster year, averaging 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while averaging just 30.9 minutes per game. Although it has not been officially announced, here is how the 2020 NBA season schedule should look for the seeding games based on the league’s plan:The lottery will involve the usual 14 teams that do not make the postseason, although it will be based on the standings from March 11, the final day of the 2019-2020 season prior to the shutdown. If a team was in the bottom 14 on that date but makes it into the postseason, it will not be eligible for the lottery, while teams that miss out on a playoff seed and lose more games in Orlando cannot improve their lottery odds. This is all scheduled to take place at the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex, located within Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with training camps slated to start at the end of June and the regular season beginning on July 31.
8 seed in the East, compiling a 30-34 record before the shutdown despite only getting 20 games from star point guard Kyrie Irving and having prized offseason acquisition Kevin Durant sidelined for the entire campaign as he recovered from injury. Sportsbooks and bettors alike are rejoicing now that pro basketball has joined the NHL in implementing a return to play plan, as the drought of relevant sports to wager on is finally coming to an end.