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The NBA will be voting this week on a plan to resume the regular season and begin the playoffs later this summer. According to multiple reports, the league is eyeing a 22-team format that would include 8 regular-season games and the postseason in Orlando, Florida.
The 8 games would be played in order to determine the playoff seeding. Games would take place from July 31 through October 12.
“So the NBA’s inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify,” ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on Twitter. “The NBA’s back.”
The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference — Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Orlando Magic — would join the Western Conference’s top 8 teams — Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Memphis Grizzlies — would make up 16 of the 22 teams.
Joining the current 16 playoff teams would be the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Washington Wizards.
Are you ready?
The coronavirus outbreak has led to the cancellation or postponing of many large events including The Masters, NCAA Tournament, Coachella, SXSW, the Winter X Games, Stagecoach, Ultra Music Festival in Miami, and more. The NBA, NHL, and MLS have temporarily suspended their seasons.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 100,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
