An Asterisk for the Winner?
As we inch closer to the actual return of basketball, more and more players are opting out of Orlando. As of right now there’s Avery Bradley, Willie Cauley-Stein, Davis Bertans, and Trevor Ariza. I completely understand their reasons to sit out, and I respect the decision, it’s just tough for the teams to lose some depth. Not to mention the amount of players who are testing positive for COVID-19 as of late - Buddy Hield, Malcolm Brogdon, and Nikola Jokic just to name a few. As a basketball fan, seeing all this in the news has me concerned.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the only option for the NBA to return to play this year. If the Disney bubble fails, then the season is over. There is no champion. What’s worse is that even if the season does end up being played, I think whatever team wins will be targeted by the rest of the NBA fandom. There will be a metaphorical asterisk put next to their championship, even though realistically I don’t believe one should be put there. However, I can see the argument that one deserves to be put down.
For example, say the Lakers meet the Bucks in the Finals. LA is missing Avery Bradley, arguably one of the better perimeter defenders on their team. I would guess that he’d be matched up with Eric Bledsoe or Donte DiVincqenzo during the series. If they have to downgrade that matchup to having someone like Pope or Caruso on them, while it may not seem like a huge difference, but every little thing matters in the Finals. Lakers fans could argue that and say that the Bucks winning doesn’t mean as much. Personally, I don’t think it’ll matter too much, but there will definitely be an argument to be made.
In my opinion, whoever wins the championship this year will have done so in more difficult circumstances than normal. If you think about it, every team is dealing with having to travel. Everyone is in the same exact place, so it’s hard to find time to be truly alone as a team. No one has the advantage of playing at home with their fans cheering them on. Granted no one has to play on the road either, but I would argue that the advantage of playing at home outweighs the disadvantage of having to play on the road. Honestly, everything is so messed up, but it’s messed up for everyone pretty much equally.
The real issue will begin if players on contending teams start opting out. I’m not talking about the Avery Bradley types, though, I mean if someone like Anthony Davis or Kyle Lowry opted out. All-Star caliber players on contending teams. If one or any of them decided not to travel to Orlando, then that team will definitely feel as though they were robbed of making a championship run. Victor Oldadipo, for example, is someone who could make a huge difference. The Pacers aren’t exactly quite contenders, but he’s a former All-Star who would help them immensely.
Overall, though, I do believe that the NBA will make it’s long awaited return on time in late July. These positive tests popping up right now won’t make a huge impact. If players start testing positive again around mid to late July, then there might be an issue for those teams. As long as the players can be smart until they have to enter the bubble, then I don’t see any big issues occurring that prevent the NBA from restarting.
