If everything goes as scheduled, the NBA will resume their 2019-2020 season in the city of Orlando. It will not be the NBA that we are accustomed to seeing in previous years. Due to the harsh effects of what can occur to a person’s health with the Coronavirus, the league has decided to consolidate its operation to the city of Orlando, Florida.
According to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, there will only be 22 teams that will be allowed to resume play inside the NBA bubble in Orlando. “13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams will play eight regular-season “seeding” games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed and playoffs at the Walt Disney World Resort” according to Wojnarowski.
The 22 teams participating in the NBA Orlando bubble are the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles 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.
With the pace of how the Coronavirus can single-handedly change the balance of power in the league, there’s a significant chance that we may be in store for some crazy outcomes. Today, Sports Talk 365 lists four absurd results that fans may witness with the NBA bubble in Orlando.
4. The Houston Rockets win their third world title in team history.
With everything occurring right now with the coronavirus pandemic, the Houston Rockets’ chances of winning a championship have increased to at least 75%. Even with their small-ball lineup, they have the personnel to make things interesting during the league’s stay down in Orlando.
The NBA is now a “live by the three and the die by the three” type of league. Rockets’ Head Coach Mike Dantoni has the players on his roster that can play that level of basketball for all four quarters. Also, do not forget about how Russell Westbrook was striving in Dantoni’s system once he got acclimated to how things operated with the offense.
Two factors that will play into Houston becoming the favorite out of the West will be the health of the Los Angles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. If the coronavirus effect impacts big-name players on those rosters, the Rockets could be in the driver’s seat to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
3. The Toronto Raptors return to the NBA Finals without the presence of Kawhi Leonard.
Last season, the Toronto Raptors were able to take advantage of the depleted Golden State Warriors by defeating them 4-2 in the NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard had one of the greatest runs that we have seen from a player when it comes to the playoffs and the NBA Finals. The two-time Finals MVP decided to take his talents to his home city of Los Angles, California, and join the Clippers.
Before the season shut down due to the pandemic, the Raptors were in the conversation of being one of the NBA’s elite ball clubs. I was one of the many individuals that did not expect this level of competitiveness from the Raptors without Leonard’s presence on the roster.
2. Key Players on the Lakers Roster is infected with Coronavirus.
With all seriousness, I pray that this does not occur during the league’s resumption in Orlando. So far, we have witnessed franchises such as the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Sacramento Kings shut down their facilities due to players tested positive for the virus. If a player such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis both get exposed to the virus, it severely affects how the Lakers can compete against the league’s best ball clubs.
Do you remember how things got for teams that James left due to free agency such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat? Within months of him leaving, the winning fortunes of those two franchises went down significantly. The Lakers could suffer the same fate if both Davis and James got sick from the virus. As previously stated, I hope that this does not occur at all, but the possibility of it happening is high.
1. The New Orleans Pelicans win their First NBA Championship in franchise history.
Out of all the teams that you can say “looks great on paper,” when everything is clicking, the New Orleans Pelicans is the most intriguing. They are young, fast, and capable of scoring a lot of points in such a short timeframe. The team already has its big three core players established, such as Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. For the Pelicans to even get in the conversation for competing for the Larry O’Brien, a multitude of things must occur.
They must play as one unit for the entire stretch during the Orlando bubble, minimize their turnovers, which would be a miracle and the overall health of the other teams that are competing. The notion of the Pelicans holding up the Larry OB sounds crazy, but with the uncertainty of how the Coronavirus can affect an opposing roster, the chances of them winning a title are high at the moment. These are Sports Talk 365’s four crazy outcomes that we may witness with the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida.
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