The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets were supposed to face off on Sunday in what could have been a Western Conference Finals preview for NBA fans.
However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA was forced to suspend play last Wednesday after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
Jazz star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood tested positive as well.
NBA 2K has been simulating the rest of the 2019-20 season for fans who are really craving any basketball action. CBS Los Angeles decided to air the Lakers-Nuggets 2K simulation on its TV broadcast:
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NBA owners and executives increasingly believe that a best case scenario for the league to return to play is sometime in mid-to-late June. This comes after the CDC recommended that no events of over 50 people should be held for the next two months or so.
The Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference before the NBA was suspended. The Nuggets, meanwhile, were in third place, seven games behind Los Angeles.
The NBA has begun collecting data on available dates for NBA arenas, practice facilities and G League venues through the end of August. Nothing is set in stone, but the NBA could end the current campaign in late August and then begin the 2020-21 season in December, similar to how the 2011-12 lockout season was.
That year, the first game of the season was played on Christmas. Lakers fans don't have fond memories of that game, as L.A. lost to the Chicago Bulls on a Derrick Rose game-winning floater over Pau Gasol.