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The NBA restart is finally upon us. We are now just hours away before the coronavirus-shortened campaign returns from a four-month hiatus that honestly felt like a lifetime. Tipping things off will be the Utah Jazz taking on the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, in what should be an exciting battle between two formidable teams out West.
The Jazz are currently fourth in the West, just a game and a half behind the third-seeded Denver Nuggets. However, two other teams are right on their tails, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets both a game behind Utah.
As for the Pelicans, each of their eight remaining regular-season games will be of utmost importance as they try to make a late run for the playoffs. Currently, New Orleans is three and a half games behind the eighth-placed Memphis Grizzlies.
Aside from the actual matchup that will have serious implications on both teams and their postseason hopes, there are a number of narratives that we also need to keep our eye on. Below are three things to watch out for in Thursday's restart of the NBA season.
The national anthem
One of the biggest criticisms the NBA has received — including some from its own players — with regards to resuming the season is how this might be distraction from the current fight for social justice around the country. For some, the spectacle that is the NBA will take the attention away from the more important matters at hand, such as the fight against systemic racism.
According to reports, discussion among players themselves has intensified of late regarding the action they intend to take in order to show their full support for the Black Lives Matter movement. One hot topic of conversation is whether or not they will kneel during the playing of the national anthem prior to tip-off, with rumors saying the Jazz and Pelicans plan to do so.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has already come out to publicly say that he “respects” the peaceful protests. While he also reiterated that the league has a long-standing rule about players' decorum during the playing of the anthem, the commissioner reportedly said during a conference call on Wednesday that players will not face any discipline for peaceful protests during the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner,” according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
This is going to be the first official game of the restart, and what the players on the Jazz and Pelicans will do during the anthem will pretty much set the tone for the rest of the way.
Jazz chemistry
Among all the teams in the league, the Jazz arguably had the worst experience during the hiatus. Their two best players in Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were the first two players in the entire league to test positive for COVID-19, and this development led to a rumored feud between the two.
It appears that both guys have ironed things out already, and they have been able to put this episode behind them. How they get along on the basketball court will speak volumes of how their current relationship now stands, and more importantly, it will determine the chemistry of the entire team.
Utah will also be entering the restart missing a key piece in Bojan Bogdanovic, who underwent season-ending wrist surgery during the hiatus. Despite playing in just his first year with the Jazz, the 31-year-old played a crucial role for the team, averaging 20.2 points on 3.6 triples per contest.
Utah will be hard-pressed to fill the huge void lefty by Bogdanovic's absence, but many are counting on veteran point guard Mike Conley to up his game in his stead. Unlike Bogdanovic, Conley's first season with the Jazz has not been impressive. However, this unfortunate series of events has led to a tremendous opportunity for the 6-foot-1 point guard, as he hopes to bring back the Mike Conley of old.
The phenom
Finally, there is no doubt that all eyes will be on Pelicans rookie sensation Zion Williamson … if he plays. The rookie phenom is a game-time decision after recently leaving the NBA bubble.
The 20-year-old went through a dramatic physical transformation during the hiatus, and it will be interesting to see how this will affect his game as a whole. He bulked up and added more than a few pounds of pure muscle, and it remains to be seen what type of effect this will have on his speed and explosiveness.
The play of the likes of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Jrue Holiday will be extremely important for the Pelicans moving forward, but it's also undeniable that how Zion plays in the remaining seeding games will have a significant effect on his team's postseason hopes.
