Nothing is better than March madness, right? Now the question becomes, if we are all staying at home until May 1st, how will the NBA end their season if they can’t start up until late May or early June? I know this will sound crazy but why not a little March Madness in June, NBA style? Can you imagine the television ratings for a March Madness-style NBA tournament?
Let’s take a look at how something like this could play out.
May 1st, everything back to normal
I think this is assuming a lot, but hell, aren’t we assuming a ton to begin with? Players will apparently return to their practice facilities on May 8th for a 10-day training camp and on May 20th the teams will all start playing three exhibition games over a 10-day span to get in as good playing shape as they possibly can.
This hypothetical tournament will be seeded how it would have been if the season ended when the virus shut them down. The top seed in the East, the Milwaukee Bucks, will get a first-round bye and likewise, the Lakers will get a bye in the West. In the first round, the team with the better record will get a home game. The winner moves on and the losers season will end.
First-round games
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Cavs@Raptors
Warriors@Clippers
Hawks@Celtics
T’Wolves@Nuggets
Pistons@Heat
Suns@Jazz
Knicks@Pacers
Spurs@Thunder
Bulls@76ers
Kings@Rockets
Hornets@Nets
Pelicans@Mavericks
Wizards@Magic
Trailblazers@Grizzlies
Sweet 16
I am not predicting upsets, I am just picking the higher seed to win to give an example of how the tournament could work. The top two seeds in each conference will be the host team.
Eastern Conference
June 11th in Milwaukee Wisconsin
7 pm Miami Heat(4) vs. Indiana Pacers(5)
10 pm Orlando Magic(8) vs. Milwaukee Bucks(1)
June 12th in Toronto
7 pm Brooklyn Nets(7) vs. Toronto Raptors(2)
10 pm Philadelphia 76ers(6) vs. Boston Celtics(3)
June 13th in Milwaukee
7 pm Miami Heat(4) vs. Milwaukee Bucks(1) Winner to the Final 4
7 pm June 14th in Toronto
7 pm Boston Celtics(3) vs. Toronto Raptors(2) Winner to the Final 4
Western Conference
June 11th in Los Angeles
8 pm OKC Thunder(5) vs. Utah Jazz(4)
11 pm Memphis Grizzlies(8) vs. Los Angeles Lakers(1)
June 12th in Los Angeles, California
8 pm Houston Rockets(6) vs. Denver Nuggets(3)
11 pm Dallas Mavericks(7) vs. Los Angeles Clippers(2)
June 13 in Los Angeles, California
11 pm Utah Jazz(4) vs. Los Angeles Lakers(1) Winner to Final 4
June 14th in Los Angeles, California
11 pm Denver Nuggets(3) vs. Los Angeles Clippers(2) Winner to Final 4
The NBA Final Four
The question is where to play the Final 4. Hands down Lucas Oil in Indianapolis, Indiana would be the ideal location! Imagine 60-70 thousand fans on hand to watch the four best teams in the NBA play back-to-back winner-take-all games?
June 20th in Indianapolis, Indiana
6 pm Toronto Raptors vs. Milwaukee Bucks
9 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers
June 22nd Championship Game in Indianapolis, Indiana
9 pm Milwaukee Bucks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Epilogue
Once again I am not saying this is what should happen, I am just trying to give the NBA some alternatives that could be exciting for fans and players. If you have any ideas to spice this up, make sure you share them with me. I would love to hear them!
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