Beyond the Arc

by Ben Fiore

As we all know, this past NBA season and the upcoming one are very different. The cause of this is none other than that pesky COVID-19. The Coronavirus sparked a postponement of last season, forced a bubble atmosphere, and pushed the end date into when the following season should normally be starting.

With the late end and the late start, the NBA had one job for the 2020-2021 season and they blew it by three days.

The NBA is slated to begin again on December 22nd of 2020… WHY NOT START THE SEASON ON CHRISTMAS DAY LIKE WE ALL WANT?! What is three days really saving us at the start? They’re already having games on Christmas day anyway, why not give the people the best gift of all, and just start the new season on the holiday?

Back in 2011 during the players strike, they did it right. After the differences had been resolved, they kicked off the year on Christmas day which made everyone even more thankful to have basketball considering when they scheduled tip off. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m simply happy that we have basketball AT ALL considering the circumstances. But to my boy Adam Silver, come on man! You had one job for the start of the season and you’re going to start it an arbitrary three days before Christmas? Sheesh, I thought that would be common sense.

I am certainly happy to see that they didn’t extend the NBA season too far and kept things on a relatively steady course. It’s unfortunate for the Lakers and Heat for the extremely short offseason, but we adapt and overcome with all these COVID adjustments right?

The season will obviously be slightly shorter but not by much. Instead of the typical 82 games, there will be 72 games played by each team this year. Similar to last year, there will be a bubble play in tournament at the end of the year for teams on the cusp of a playoff birth, then continuing on to the usual playoff structure.

This year has certainly been crazy, and I’m so happy that we are lucky enough to see the NBA back in action. But damn man, it would have been perfect to start this season on Christmas. I’ll let this one slide, Commissioner. But next time there is a global pandemic, think of the kids!