The professional sports leagues that had to shut down mid-season because of the coronavirus outbreak now have plans for completing their seasons. But what do you think of those plans?
Both the NBA and the NHL were nearing the conclusion of their regular seasons and getting prepared for the playoffs when sports came grinding to a halt in mid-March as part of the efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. Some wondered whether the seasons would be resumed at all.
But with states beginning to loosen the restrictions placed on businesses and public gatherings, there’s hope for completing the seasons and crowing champions. The past two weeks both the NBA and the NHL announced their plans for restarting.
Last Thursday the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a plan to restart its season:
- Twenty-two of the league’s 30 teams will resume playing.
- All action will take place at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida.
- Teams arrive July 7 for training camp, with games beginning July 31.
- Teams will play eight regular season games to determine conference seeding.
- The top seven teams in each conference advance to the playoffs. The eighth position will be determined by a play-in tournament.
- The playoffs will commence as normal with best-of-seven series.
- The playoffs will conclude by Oct. 12.
On May 26 the NHL announced its plan for restarting:
- Twenty-four of the league’s 31 teams will resume playing.
- All action will take place at two hub cities yet to be determined, one for each conference.
- Training camps will open no earlier than July 10.
- The top four teams in each conference receive a bye into the playoffs. They will play a round robin to determine seeding.
- The next eight teams in each conference will play best-of-five series to determine the other eight playoff qualifiers.
- The playoffs will commence as normal with best-of-seven series.
- No dates were provided for when games will start or when the playoffs will conclude.
Both leagues will play games without fans in attendance.
The leagues had to get creative with how to conclude their seasons, including the decision that some of their teams’ seasons are done. The NBA modified the completion of its regular season in order to determine playoff seeding. The NHL scrapped the conclusion of its regular season and in essence tacked on an extra round of playoffs. But both leagues prioritized maintaining the integrity of its postseason format.
So which league do you think got it right? Which restart plan looks best to you? Vote here:
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