Mailbag: What are challenges NBA faces in saving 2019-20 season? And a Heat concern
The Miami Herald Heat mailbag is here to answer your questions.
If you were not able to ask this time, send your questions for future mailbags via Twitter (@Anthony_Chiang). You can also email them in to achiang@miamiherald.com.
@alantama305: Are the playoffs going to happen?
Anthony Chiang: A simple, but looming question. As NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week during an interview with Ernie Johnson, a decision on the remainder of the season is not expected to be made before the start of May. There are still too many unknowns amid the coronavirus pandemic to make a determination.
The encouraging thing is the NBA will consider creative and different scenarios to finish the 2019-20 season, including playing games with no fans in attendance. Silver said the questions that come along with those types of decisions include: “How would those games be televised? Would we still play in huge NBA arenas or would we go to practice facilities? Would we go to a single site?” So, if there’s any way the season can be saved, the league will explore it.
The discouraging thing is the Chinese Basketball Association, which is months ahead of the United States, is still working to restart its season after the outbreak shut down play in January. This is especially worrisome because the CBA is seen as a test case for American sports leagues, especially the NBA. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, sports officials in China are concerned about asymptomatic carriers despite the spread of the disease slowing in the country.
If the NBA season is able to continue, there will need to be a period of time to get players ready for games. With team facilities closed to players and staff indefinitely and gyms across the country closed, it has been hard to get basketball work in unless players have a basket/court at their home. Windhorst reported Sunday that “one of the ideas that has been proposed is a 25-day program for players to go through before they resume game play.” This 25-day stretch would include 11 days of individual workouts and then a two-week training camp with entire teams participating.
This means even if the NBA announces on May 1 the season will continue, the first game likely won’t be played until early June because of the proposed 25-day window to prepare players.
@JustinFrybergh: What would you say is the largest concern for the Heat (besides obviously coronavirus-related concerns) when play eventually resumes?
Anthony: Probably defense. Let’s not forget the Heat entered the stoppage with a statistically mediocre defense (14th-best defensive rating in the NBA). Mediocre defense hasn’t exactly been part of Miami’s formula for success in the past. The Heat has finished with a top-10 defense in four consecutive seasons, with the last time it finished outside of the top 10 coming in 2014-15 when it posted a 37-45 record.
