There’ve been a lot of opinions regarding the NBA’s recent decision to suspend play indefinitely, with the playoffs having been scheduled to begin in just a few weeks.
The league’s hand was essentially forced when Jazz big man Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Gobert had interacted with so many different people — other players, referees, his teammates, arena staffers, fans, hotel employees and more — that the NBA had no choice but to test and quarantine those that had interacted with him before, during and after games.
And that’s exactly what they did, acting quickly, and finding out that Gobert’s teammate, Donovan Mitchell, had been infected as well. So to prevent the spread of COVID-19, hoping to keep everyone safe, the NBA suspended play indefinitely.
Mar 7, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) warms up prior to the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
There’s really no word on to when the league will resume play, if it does. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has stated that it will be 30 days until the league starts up play again, if not more. There’s talk of the playoffs taking place in June or July, and also not at all. It will be interesting to see how Australia’s National Basketball League handles with the issue, as it, too, elected to suspend play.
But at least the NBA hasn’t given up hope, and is taking a wait-and-see approach, which was very smart.
On the other side of the fence, the NCAA chose to cancel its 2020 college basketball tournament last week — without even batting an eyelash, a fact that you can take advantage of as you get in on the action by placing your own little wagger if you simply click right now and join the fun.. Now, young players who are looking to take the leap to professional basketball may never get the opportunity to play in front of scouts and coaches interested in their services — really hurting the small-school prospects. Fans suffer not getting to watch March Madness, but these young players suffer more. The best Microgaming online casinos list won’t list their odds of winning the NCAA Tournament, because it won’t be happening at all, in any form.
Mar 14, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Signs advertising March Madness, which was to be held next week in Cleveland, are shown outside of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Mid-American Conference basketball tournament, the NCAA tournament and most professional sporting events were cancelled or postponed to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA was one of the first leagues to have had a player test positive for COVID-19, but it did not overreact. Instead, it handled the situation in a swift and professional manner, and immediately stopped play — rather than other leagues, which elected to have games in closed arenas, without fans. Not the NBA, though, which set an example as to exactly how other leagues should handle this scenario in the future.