If the 2019-20 NBA season is resumed, we could see the 2020 playoffs be reduced to a best-of-three series.
Per Marc Berman of The New York Post, all options are on the table for the NBA, which is eager to finish the 2019-20 season no matter what:
Though news of the coronavirus pandemic has been discouraging, NBA executives still cling to hope of arranging a one-site, fan-less, 16-team playoff and a five-to-seven-game regular-season prelude, according to multiple NBA sources.
“They’re very determined to have a champion,” one industry source said.
The playoffs could be reduced to a slew of best-of-three series across the board. A single-elimination format has been all but ruled out — only under consideration as a last resort.
“Nothing is off the table,” another league official said.
The NBA postseason usually features best-of-seven series. It would be strange to see it get changed to a best-of-three, but NBA fans are pretty desperate for games to start again, so it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
However, all of this is contingent upon COVID-19. If the virus doesn’t die down by July or August, the NBA may have to just cancel the 2019-20 season altogether.
Numerous people in the NBA population have tested positive for COVID-19, with the latest being New York Knicks owner James Dolan.
Brooklyn Nets superstar small forward Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were the more high-profile players who tested positive.