As part of a recent on The Road Trippin' Podcast, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James made it clear that he would not be in favor of jumping straight into the playoffs if the 2019-20 season resumes.
Earlier this month, the NBA announced that it would suspend this season due to ongoing concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Several players around the league have contracted the virus, including Utah Jazz teammates Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, as well as four Brooklyn Nets players.
At this point, it's not clear when the 2019-20 campaign might resume. Some, including Mavs owner Mark Cuban, have suggested that the season could be finished in July or August, but he admits that health official will have the final say.
Another option for this season would be jumping straight into the playoffs — if it becomes safe enough to play again, of course. James, however, says this would not be an ideal option.
“One thing you can't just do is go straight to the playoffs,” the Lakers star said, via ESPN. “Because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys had fighting for that position.”
Instead of skipping into the postseason outright, James and his Road Trippin' crew suggested a new idea: a mini play-in tournament.
In order to build excitement for the final sliver of a regular season, the Road Trippin' crew suggested to use those games to have the teams currently seeded Nos. 8-11 in the Western Conference to play each other in a mini play-in tournament while the Nos. 1-7 seeds play the teams at the bottom of the West for their tune-up games.
In the scenario they presented, the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies would play a best-of-three set against the No. 11 Sacramento Kings while the No. 9 Portland Trail Blazers would play a best-of-three against the No. 10 New Orleans Pelicans, which would lead to both winners playing against one another for a playoff berth.
Forgoing the rest of this regular season could have ill effects for several teams around the NBA that were competing for a spot in the playoffs, such as the Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers. With the Lakers star's idea, these teams would still have a shot at getting in.
For now, we'll have to wait and see what the league decides to do.
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