Danny Green is one of many players on the Los Angeles Lakers and league wide who are struggling with the indefinite hiatus brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond the team rhythm and wins, these players all share a love for a game that they are not allowed to play for at least the next month or more. In the meantime, even team facilities have been shut down by the NBA.
Clearly, public health concerns come before everything else and the NBA has been a step ahead in terms of that, but players like Green simply miss the game and want it to return as soon as possible. The NBAhas talked about a number of options, including a permanent shift in the schedule.
Regardless, the plan remains the NBA will return at some point. And when it does — even if it’s in June or July — Green believes that players will need some preseason-like games to help teams get back into shape, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com:
For sure. I don’t think that’d be fair to just have teams dive right into the playoffs. I think we’d need at least five games of the regular season to just get us our flow back. Get our legs back under us, get some kind of rhythm, get our chemistry, get our team back. I don’t know if it’s preseason-type games or scrimmages, but at least five or six games under our belt to get back into team form.
It seems highly unlikely at this point the NBA will pick up where they left off as there are simply too many games remaining in the schedule. However, the idea of playing five or so preseason games to get back into rhythm before starting the 2020 NBA playoffs could work well.
It would be great for player health as going from no basketball to playoff intensity would likely lead to some major injuries. In addition, it would be good for fans to get some basketball back before the playoffs begin and refresh themselves on everything going on in the league.
Whatever happens, it seems players are simply waiting patiently for word from commissioner Adam Silver about what the next steps are. Regardless of all of this, the NBA is going to need to be very fluid for the next couple of months.