The NBA enters a big week as teams prepare to travel into the bubble
After an up-and-down week which involved six NBA teams closing its training facilities after members of their traveling parties tested positive for COVID-19, for many, this is the week we’ve all been waiting for.
While shutting down training facilities after a positive COVID-19 test is a proactive and safe response, what makes it all the more complicated is that teams are slated to travel into the Orlando/Disney bubble this week.
Teams are expected to arrive in the bubble between July 7-11. Once they arrive, they will be immediately tested for COVID-19, in an attempt to keep the bubble from being infiltrated by the virus which could lead to a community spread in the bubble. Should that happen, that would likely lead to a shutdown of the NBA’s restart.
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Mini-training camps are expected to open almost immediately as soon as teams arrive in the bubble (assuming they’re cleared by medical professionals with no positive COVID-19 results upon arrival).
NBA has schedule scrimmages between teams that are unlikely to play each other in the playoffs, which will begin June 22 (one week before the start of the eight seeding games).
It’ll be interesting to see how this week plays out for the NBA. It could give us a preview of what to expect once we get deeper into the month, and closer to the start of the season. If the NBA can’t travel into the bubble safely, without a mini-outbreak of COVID-19, who knows if this season will even be able to resume?
The hope for many is that this all doesn’t end as one big disaster and the NBA can resume and conclude the 2019-20 season. Though, there’s no guarantee that they can make it all work. If one thing is for sure, though, it’s that they’re going to try. That all begins this week.
This is unquestionably a big week for the NBA. If they could get through the week (the travel and the beginning of training) without any breakouts of the virus, perhaps there’s hope for the league’s restart plan. Here’s to hoping there aren’t any setbacks this week in the NBA.