New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[Steve Williams]

I always enjoyed Wes Unseld as a player

Hall of Famer, Bullets icon Wes Unseld dies at 74
Legendary big man won Rookie of Year and MVP honors in 1968-69 season
From NBA Twitter and media reports

https://www.nba.com/article/2020/06/02/wes-unseld-dies-obit

 

[rblnr]

I always felt he and Willis Reed defined classic NBA toughness.

 

[Steve Williams]

Sources: Proposed date for Game 7 of NBA Finals is Oct. 12

As the NBA models a 22-team format for the season's proposed resumption beginning July 31 in Orlando, Florida, a timeline shared with teams as a last possible date for a Finals Game 7 lands on Oct. 12, sources told ESPN.

Commissioner Adam Silver is expected to have a proposal to take to a vote of the NBA's board of governors on Thursday, sources said.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29256968/sources-proposed-date-game-7-nba-finals-oct-12

 

[Steve Williams]

LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer: 'I can't see anybody agreeing to reopen arenas in the foreseeable future'

https://sports.yahoo.com/la-clipper...enas-in-the-foreseeable-future-124549697.html

 

[jadis]

LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer: 'I can't see anybody agreeing to reopen arenas in the foreseeable future'

https://sports.yahoo.com/la-clipper...enas-in-the-foreseeable-future-124549697.html

Reading the comments below the article, most people don't want the games to resume. The best comment was "this has been the best Knicks season ever." : D

 

[Steve Williams]

Looks like July 31 with 22 teams. I know you guys are skeptical but I am as well but also optimistic about it. I'm ready. I have no problems playing in Orlando and I believe the players understand the risk

All 22 teams shouldn't have any injuries so perhaps it could be great. Owners want to make money and players want to get paid

Big NBA return questions: What will the playoffs in Orlando look like?

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/st...new-nba-playoffs-most-likely-surprises-upsets

 

[WLVCA]

I'm ready for them to start - better than no basketball.

Still 8 weeks to wait....

 

[jadis]

So many new rules it's dazzling.This one is confusing.

The six teams joining the current top-eight seeds in each conference are the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards, per Wojnarowski. Only the Wizards represent the Eastern Conference. The East’s Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls are the only teams currently within eight games of a playoff spot that will not be invited.

https://sports.yahoo.com/reports-nb...sal-for-leagues-return-to-play-152959137.html

 

[jadis]

Are we to understand that all the players and staff and arena workers will be quarantined inside Disney World for 2 and a half months? Of course the eliminated can go home. I still don't understand the 6 invitees who will play for the 8th spot thing as there are only 2 conferences with an 8th spot.

 

[Steve Williams]

Are we to understand that all the players and staff and arena workers will be quarantined inside Disney World for 2 and a half months? Of course the eliminated can go home. I still don't understand the 6 invitees who will play for the 8th spot thing as there are only 2 conferences with an 8th spot.

With an eight-game regular season, how will the league determine standings and seeding given an uneven number of total games played among teams? Portland has already played 66 games, but San Antonio is only at 63. And what if multiple teams finish in a tie for ninth? How the league sorts out those details remains unknown.

ESPN's Kevin Pelton interprets the details and assesses the possible play-in tournaments here.

Pelton also has projections here for each team's championship odds at a neutral site.

The initial cap projections were based on an expected $8 billion in basketball-related income (BRI), which is now expected to decrease by at least $1 billion and potentially as much as $2 billion. BRI takes into account a wide range of revenue from gate receipts to broadcast rights, and it is split roughly evenly between teams and players.

NBA players are already having 25% of their paychecks for this season withheld to account for the loss in revenue. That money -- and potentially additional pay cuts -- could be returned to teams if the final restart outcome doesn't even out the BRI split.

The league and the players' union will need to make adjustments to the CBA and how the business of basketball operates going forward. ESPN's Bobby Marks breaks down what those negotiations will look like here.

 

[Steve Williams]

Projecting schedules for all 22 returning NBA teams

Dan Feldman
NBC Sports•June 3, 2020

The NBA will recall 22 teams to each play eight games.

How will the schedule work?

The new structure will reportedly be based on teams’ existing schedules, teams playing their next eight originally scheduled games against the continuing 22 teams. Of course, that doesn’t work cleanly. Some teams would reach eight games more quickly than other teams. So, whenever a team arrived at an opponent that already reached eight games, I just continued to that team’s next game.

With that assumption, here are the remaining opponents for each team:

• Boston Celtics: Bucks, Wizards, Raptors, Nets, Wizards, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, Heat
• Brooklyn Nets: Clippers, Kings, Wizards, Celtics, Magic, Clippers, Magic, Trail Blazers
• Dallas Mavericks: Suns, Clippers, Kings, Trail Blazers, Suns, Rockets, Jazz, Bucks
• Denver Nuggets: Spurs, Lakers, Clippers, Thunder, Raptors, Heat, Spurs, Thunder
• Houston Rockets: Lakers, Trail Blazers, Kings, Bucks, Mavericks, Pacers, 76ers, Raptors
• Indiana Pacers: 76ers, Heat, Suns, Magic, Rockets, Kings, Clippers, Lakers
• L.A. Clippers: Nets, Pelicans, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, Nets, Pacers, Thunder
• Los Angeles Lakers: Rockets, Nuggets, Jazz, Jazz, Raptors, Pacers, Trail Blazers,* Heat or Magic*
• Memphis Grizzlies: Trail Blazers, Jazz, Spurs, Thunder, Bucks, Pelicans, Pelicans, Celtics
• Miami Heat: Bucks, Pacers, Thunder, Nuggets, Suns, Celtics, Raptors, Lakers or Trail Blazers*
• Milwaukee Bucks: Celtics, Heat, Grizzlies, Wizards, Rockets, Wizards, Mavericks, Raptors
• New Orleans Pelicans: Kings, Jazz, Clippers, Spurs, Grizzlies, Kings, Grizzlies, Magic
• Oklahoma City Thunder: Jazz, Wizards, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Heat, Nuggets, Suns, Clippers
• Orlando Magic: Pacers, Kings, Nets, Nets, Pelicans, 76ers, Raptors, Lakers or Trail Blazers*
• Philadelphia 76ers: Pacers, Wizards, Raptors, Trail Blazers, Suns, Rockets, Magic, Spurs
• Phoenix Suns: Mavericks, Pacers, Clippers, Mavericks, 76ers, Wizards, Heat, Thunder
• Portland Trail Blazers: Grizzlies, Rockets, Mavericks, 76ers, Celtics, Nets, Lakers,* Heat or Magic*
• Sacramento Kings: Pelicans, Nets, Mavericks, Rockets, Magic, Pelicans, Pacers, Spurs
• San Antonio Spurs: Nuggets, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Jazz, Jazz, Nuggets, Kings, 76ers
• Toronto Raptors: 76ers, Celtics, Nuggets, Lakers, Bucks, Rockets, Heat, Magic
• Utah Jazz: Thunder, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Lakers, Lakers, Spurs, Spurs, Mavericks
• Washington Wizards: Celtics, Thunder, 76ers, Nets, Bucks, Celtics, Suns, Bucks

*To reach eight games for each team, I had to create three games not on the schedule:

• Lakers vs. Trail Blazers
  Lakers vs. Heat or Magic
  Trail Blazers vs. Heat or Magic
  Los Angeles would face whichever of Miami and Orlando that Portland doesn’t face (and vice versa).
  
  The Lakers could also play the Trail Blazers twice, and the Heat could just play the Magic. But that’d mean five Lakers-Trail Blazers games and five Heat-Magic games this season. Generally, teams play each other four or fewer times.
  
  I wouldn’t get too caught up in the order of the games. That almost certainly must be adjusted. Otherwise, teams would finish at significantly different times. For example, the Bucks’ eighth game in this format is against the Raptors. But that’s just Toronto’s fifth game.
  
  The NBA might also use a different method altogether. Again, the reported plan can’t work exactly as reported.
  
  But want the best guess at each team’s remaining games? This is it.
  
  *Thanks to Kevin Pelton of ESPN for providing a handy spreadsheet of originally scheduled games.
  
  Projecting schedules for all 22 returning NBA teams originally appeared on NBCSports.com
  

 

[jadis]

Maybe we should just call this resumption of play as NBA 2K20 THE MOVIE. It's all scripted. And just like some movies, it makes no sense.

 

[Steve Williams]

It is confusing however I'm ready to watch some round ball.

The best basketball I have seen since March is ESPN's The Last Dance which is an absolute "must see". IMO this documentary solidifies Michael's place as GOAT

 

[Steve Williams]

and here we go........it's official

NBA Board of Governors Approves Competitive Format to Restart 2019-20 Season with 22 Teams Returning to Play

NEW YORK, June 4, 2020 – The NBA Board of Governors today approved a competitive format to restart the 2019-20 season with 22 teams returning to play and a tentative start date of Friday, July 31. The Board’s approval is the first formal step among many required to resume the season.

The NBA is working to finalize a comprehensive season restart plan with the National Basketball Players Association. The NBA and the NBPA are working with infectious disease specialists, public health experts and government officials to establish a rigorous program to prevent and mitigate the risk related to COVID-19, including a regular testing protocol and stringent safety practices. The season restart is also contingent on an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to use Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, as a single site for a campus for all games, practices and housing for the remainder of the season.

Based on the competitive format that the NBA Board of Governors approved today, the 22 returning teams would be the 16 teams (eight per conference) in current playoff positions and the six teams that are currently six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in their respective conferences. Those two groups comprise teams with the NBA’s 22 best records.

“The Board’s approval of the restart format is a necessary step toward resuming the NBA season,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts. We also recognize that as we prepare to resume play, our society is reeling from recent tragedies of racial violence and injustice, and we will continue to work closely with our teams and players to use our collective resources and influence to address these issues in very real and concrete ways.”

The season restart would begin with eight “seeding games” for each returning team and include the possibility of a play-in tournament for the eighth and final playoff seed in each conference depending on combined records across regular-season games and seeding games. Once the 16-team playoff field is set, the NBA Playoffs would proceed in a traditional conference-based format with four rounds and best-of-seven series in each round. The NBA Finals would end no later than Oct. 12. (See below for the list of returning teams and additional details.)

If, as tentatively scheduled, the season resumes on July 31, then the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery would be rescheduled for Aug. 25, the 2020 NBA Draft would be held on Oct. 15 and the 2020-21 NBA regular season would likely begin on Dec. 1, 2020.

The 14 NBA Lottery teams would be the eight teams that do not participate in the restart and the six teams that participate in the restart but do not qualify for the playoffs. These teams would be seeded in the lottery and assigned odds based on their records through games of March 11. The 16 playoff teams would draft in inverse order of their combined records across regular-season games and seeding games.

NBA Season Restart: Competitive Format Plan

The 22 returning teams for the season restart would be the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards from the Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns from the Western Conference.

Each returning team would play eight seeding games, as selected from its remaining regular-season matchups. At the conclusion of the seeding games, the seven teams in each conference with the best combined records across regular-season games and seeding games would qualify for the playoffs.

If the team with the eighth-best combined record in its conference is more than four games ahead of the team with the ninth-best combined record in the same conference, then the team with the eighth-best record would earn the eighth playoff seed.

If the team with the eighth-best combined record in its conference (Team A) is four games or fewer ahead of the team with the ninth-best combined record in the same conference (Team B), then Teams A and B would compete in a play-in tournament to determine the eighth playoff seed. To earn the eighth playoff seed, Team A would need to defeat Team B once and Team B would need to defeat Team A two games in a row.

The 2019-20 season would conclude with a traditional playoff format with best-of-seven series in the first round, conference semifinals, conference finals and the NBA Finals.

 

[jadis]

and here we go........it's official

NBA Board of Governors Approves Competitive Format to Restart 2019-20 Season with 22 Teams Returning to Play

NEW YORK, June 4, 2020 – The NBA Board of Governors today approved a competitive format to restart the 2019-20 season with 22 teams returning to play and a tentative start date of Friday, July 31. The Board’s approval is the first formal step among many required to resume the season.

The NBA is working to finalize a comprehensive season restart plan with the National Basketball Players Association. The NBA and the NBPA are working with infectious disease specialists, public health experts and government officials to establish a rigorous program to prevent and mitigate the risk related to COVID-19, including a regular testing protocol and stringent safety practices. The season restart is also contingent on an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to use Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, as a single site for a campus for all games, practices and housing for the remainder of the season.

Based on the competitive format that the NBA Board of Governors approved today, the 22 returning teams would be the 16 teams (eight per conference) in current playoff positions and the six teams that are currently six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in their respective conferences. Those two groups comprise teams with the NBA’s 22 best records.

“The Board’s approval of the restart format is a necessary step toward resuming the NBA season,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts. We also recognize that as we prepare to resume play, our society is reeling from recent tragedies of racial violence and injustice, and we will continue to work closely with our teams and players to use our collective resources and influence to address these issues in very real and concrete ways.”

The season restart would begin with eight “seeding games” for each returning team and include the possibility of a play-in tournament for the eighth and final playoff seed in each conference depending on combined records across regular-season games and seeding games. Once the 16-team playoff field is set, the NBA Playoffs would proceed in a traditional conference-based format with four rounds and best-of-seven series in each round. The NBA Finals would end no later than Oct. 12. (See below for the list of returning teams and additional details.)

If, as tentatively scheduled, the season resumes on July 31, then the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery would be rescheduled for Aug. 25, the 2020 NBA Draft would be held on Oct. 15 and the 2020-21 NBA regular season would likely begin on Dec. 1, 2020.

The 14 NBA Lottery teams would be the eight teams that do not participate in the restart and the six teams that participate in the restart but do not qualify for the playoffs. These teams would be seeded in the lottery and assigned odds based on their records through games of March 11. The 16 playoff teams would draft in inverse order of their combined records across regular-season games and seeding games.

NBA Season Restart: Competitive Format Plan

The 22 returning teams for the season restart would be the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards from the Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns from the Western Conference.

Each returning team would play eight seeding games, as selected from its remaining regular-season matchups. At the conclusion of the seeding games, the seven teams in each conference with the best combined records across regular-season games and seeding games would qualify for the playoffs.

If the team with the eighth-best combined record in its conference is more than four games ahead of the team with the ninth-best combined record in the same conference, then the team with the eighth-best record would earn the eighth playoff seed.

If the team with the eighth-best combined record in its conference (Team A) is four games or fewer ahead of the team with the ninth-best combined record in the same conference (Team B), then Teams A and B would compete in a play-in tournament to determine the eighth playoff seed. To earn the eighth playoff seed, Team A would need to defeat Team B once and Team B would need to defeat Team A two games in a row.

The 2019-20 season would conclude with a traditional playoff format with best-of-seven series in the first round, conference semifinals, conference finals and the NBA Finals.

The scenario looks pretty clear now. Since it will be there, let's enjoy the show.

 

[Steve Williams]

How Adam Silver, the NBA's stars and owners negotiated these playoffs

This is a long but very good read

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29267245/how-adam-silver-nba-stars-owners-negotiated-playoffs

 

[Steve Williams]

NBA Championship odds: Lakers, Bucks favorites as NBA plans restart

Kurt Helin
,
NBC Sports

It’s all about LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo when it comes to NBA Championship odds.

At least for the gambling public. With the return of the NBA set for July in a 22-team format, the NBA futures odds to win the title have gone up at sportsbooks. Not surprisingly, LeBron and the Lakers, and Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, are the betting favorites. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are close behind, with a considerable drop off after that.

Here are the current odds (with money won on a $100 bet):

TEAMCAESARSFAN DUALLos Angeles Lakers+200+270Milwaukee Bucks+275+240Los Angeles Clippers+325+340Houston Rockets+1500+1200Boston Celtics+1500+2000Toronto Raptors+1700+2400Denver Nuggets+2200+2500Miami Heat+4000+2700Philadelphia 76ers+2500+2700Utah Jazz+6000+2900Dallas Mavericks+3500+3600Brooklyn Nets+6000+6000Indiana Pacers+12500+10000Oklahoma City Thunder+6000+10000New Orleans PelicansN/A+12000Memphis Grizzlies+50000+21000Portland Trail Blazers+7500+21000San Antonio Spurs+100000+21000Orlando Magic+75000+25000Phoenix Suns+50000+25000Sacramento Kings+200000+25000Washington Wizards+100000+25000
A few quick thoughts on these NBA Championship odds:

• Brooklyn is only at 60/1 odds because of Kevin Durant‘s possible return to the court — except that’s not happening. Even if he could, Kyrie Irving is not recovered from his March surgery yet, and no way KD is coming back without Irving.

• Along those same lines, John Wall is not returning for the Wizards this season.

• The best bet on the board? I would say the Clippers.

• If I had to bet who will end up with the eighth seed in the West, I would take Portland. New Orleans and Memphis both have a legitimate shot, but Portland gets Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins both back, and that was a 50+ win team with those two the season before.

I’m basing my thoughts on what happened before March 11, and all of that feels somewhat irrelevant heading into this unprecedented situation.

I highlighted the last sentence as I believe there are favorites but all teams are healthy and these are unchartered waters and there is no certain winner and I predict a lot of upsets

 

[Steve Williams]

Kevin Durant confirms he won't return for NBA restart

While the NBA is making plans to resume the 2019-20 season next month, Kevin Durant has aleady ruled himself out until next season.

"My season is over," Durant told The Undefeated on Friday. "I don’t plan on playing at all. We decided last summer when it first happened that I was just going to wait until the following season. I had no plans of playing at all this season."

In the wide-ranging interview with Mark J. Spears, Durant discusses the death of George Floyd, black pride, COVID-19 and his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon.

Asked if he had the urge to play, Durant replied: "It's just best for me to wait. I don't think I'm ready to play that type of intensity right now in the next month. It gives me more time to get ready for next season and the rest of my career."

 

[Steve Williams]

Here is everything we need to know about the finish of the season. Puts everything in perspective

Everything you need to know about the 2019-20 NBA season restart
Clear answers to questions about play-in tournament, new dates and more
From NBA.com Staff

The 2019-20 NBA season went on hiatus on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. On June 4, the NBA's Board of Governors approved a competitive format to restart the 2019-20 season with 22 teams returning to play and a tentative start date of July 31. The Board’s approval is the first formal step among many required to resume the season and the NBA is working to finalize a comprehensive season restart plan with the National Basketball Players Association.

The 2019-20 restart is contingent on an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to use Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla., as a single site for a campus for all games, practices and housing for the remainder of the season.

In anticipation of the return of the NBA, here are some common questions and answers about the restart of the 2019-20 season. Again, it's important to note that all of these dates are tentative.

Q: When does the 2019-20 season restart begin and end?
July 31 is the tentative start date. The Finals would end no later than Oct. 12.


Q: Which teams will be returning?
A total of 22 teams would return to play this season.

Eastern Conference

Milwaukee Bucks
Toronto Raptors
Boston Celtics
Miami Heat
Indiana Pacers
Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets
Orlando Magic
Washington Wizards
Western Conference

Los Angeles Lakers
LA Clippers
Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz
Oklahoma City Thunder
Houston Rockets
Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies
Portland Trail Blazers
New Orleans Pelicans
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Phoenix Suns
This is based on the competitive format that the BOG approved. The returning teams are the 16 teams in current playoff positions and the six teams that are currently six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in their respective conferences.


Q: What are seeding games?
The eight remaining games each returning team would play before the playoffs begin. The games would be selected from a team's remaining regular-season matchups.


Q: Where will games be played?
Games and practices would be held near Orlando as the season restart is contingent on an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to use Walt Disney World Resort. It would be a single site location, featuring a campus that would house players for the remainder of the season.


Q: What are the NBA’s medical protocols?
The NBA and the NBPA are working with infectious disease specialists, public health experts and government officials to establish a rigorous program to prevent and mitigate the risk related to COVID-19, including a regular testing protocol and stringent safety practices.


Q: How many total games will each team in the 22-team field have played before the playoffs begin?
It varies by team, but most of the 22 teams would play 72 or 73 games after the eight "seeding games" are added to their regular-season game total. The Dallas Mavericks would have played the most total games (75) and the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers would have played the least (71).


Q: How will playoff seeding work?
The seven teams in each conference with the best records (regular-season games + seeding games) would have clinched a playoff spot. The usual tie-breaker scenarios would be in place for those seeds. The eighth seed could potentially come down to a play-in tournament.


Q: How would the play-in tournament work?
If the team with the eighth-best record in its conference is more than four games ahead of the team with the ninth-best record in the same conference, no play-in tournament would be necessary. The final playoff berth would simply go to the team with the eighth best record (regular-season games + seeding games).

But if the team with the eighth-best record in its conference is four games or fewer ahead of the team with the ninth-best record in the same conference, then we'll have a battle for the final spot between those two teams.

The tournament would basically be a best-of-two series -- where the No. 9 seed would have to win two head-to-head matchups to take over the No. 8 spot.

Current NBA standings | NBA playoff picture & tiebreaker scenarios

Q: Will the playoffs be any different?
No. Once the 16-team playoff field is set, the NBA playoffs would proceed in a traditional conference-based format featuring the usual best-of-seven series in the first round, conference semifinals, conference finals and The Finals.


Q: When is the NBA Draft Lottery?
August 25. This is assuming games begin on July 31 as tentatively scheduled.


Q: How will lottery teams be determined?
The 14 lottery teams would be the eight teams that do not participate in the restart and the six teams that participate in the restart but do not qualify for the playoffs. These teams would be seeded in the lottery and assigned odds based on their records through March 11.

The 16 playoff teams would draft in inverse order of their combined records across regular-season games and seeding games.


Q: When is the NBA Draft?
October 15. This is assuming games begin on July 31 as tentatively scheduled.


Q: When will the 2020-21 season start?
The 2020-21 NBA regular season would likely begin on Dec. 1, 2020. This is also assuming games begin on July 31 as tentatively scheduled.


More tentative details, such as when training camps open and free agency begins, are forthcoming. This article will be updated accordingly.

 

[Steve Williams]

NBA offers clarity on tiebreakers with uneven schedule

Tim Reynolds | The Associated Press

MIAMI -- The NBA has told teams that playoff seeding will be based on winning percentage, and that any tiebreakers necessary after that will follow the usual procedures.

It was an issue that needed clarity because the 22 teams that will be going to the Disney complex near Orlando, Florida, for the planned resumption of the season next month will not have played the same number of games.

The NBA told teams of the plan for utilizing tiebreakers in a memo late Friday.

Based on the league plan for the restart, with games starting again in late July, Dallas will end up playing an NBA-high 75 contests. Most others will play between 72 and 74; the low total will be 71, which San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers will finish at if the NBA’s plans for teams to play eight games at the Disney complex before the playoffs begin comes to fruition.

The NBA has not yet revealed how team schedules will be adjusted once play resumes without Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Golden State, Minnesota and New York taking part in the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

There are some playoff races that are particularly close and where the teams involved will end up playing a different number of games.

In the East, Brooklyn and Orlando are separated by a half-game and the Nets will end up with one less game than the Magic.

In the West, four teams — Portland, New Orleans, Sacramento and San Antonio — are all separated by a half-game in the race for ninth place and potentially a berth in a play-in series. The gap between those four teams is .010 percentage points, and the Trail Blazers will play 74 games, the Pelicans and Kings will both play 72 and the Spurs 71.

Typically, NBA teams play 82 games — which wasn’t possible this season because of the coronavirus pandemic and the suspension of the season on March 11.

This will be the first season in which NBA teams play an uneven number of games since 2012-13, when a game between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers was canceled in response to the Boston Marathon bombing. The Celtics and Pacers finished at 81 games, though that did not have any impact on playoff seeding that season.