Although the 2019-20 season has been suspended indefinitely, the NBA has told teams that they can still hold practice.
Per Tim MacMahon of ESPN, teams are still allowed to work and train in their own practice facilities. However, players are instructed not to welcome visitors from out of town as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.
Mark Cuban says the NBA has told teams that they can continue to practice. He adds that players have been told they should not have visitors from out of town.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 12, 2020
The duel between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets was the last game before the NBA announced the postponement of the season. Dallas won the showdown, 113-97.
Two other scheduled games — the Utah Jazz vs the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Sacramento Kings vs the New Orleans Pelicans — were canceled. This was right after Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Moments after the news broke, the NBA quickly announced the suspension of the 2019-20 season.
Prior to the incident, the league was considering playing games behind closed doors. After the league’s meeting with the Board of Governors and the NBPA, they arrived at two possible solutions: playing behind closed doors or delaying the schedule and pushing the calendar for at least one month.
According to reports, most team owners prefer the league to conduct games without fans instead of delaying the schedule.
But as things got worse, the NBA took the big step to suspend the season. Sure enough, teams, owners, and coaches have lauded the league’s quick response.
The league will reportedly use the time off to properly evaluate how to prevent the spread of the virus and how the 2019-20 season will pan out. Most teams have less than 20 games left in the regular season as the playoffs near.
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