Will the NBA’s product take a hit due to players sitting out restart?

How much will players sitting out impact the NBA’s restart quality?

For a myriad of reasons, the list of players sitting out the NBA’s restart continues to grow. From health concerns, social justice reform, or just spending time with family, their reasons are valid. In no way do I feel that their choice is detrimental to their team as everyone begins to focus on the postseason.

But for those who have declared their choice to opt-out, is it even going to matter on the trajectory of their team?

Let’s start with the two biggest names to be no shows in Orlando: Bradley Beal and Victor Oladipo. Both of these all-stars are fundamental cogs to the success of their teams.

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However, in regards to Beal, the Washington Wizards have been a near train wreck the entire season and have wasted quality performances by Beal time and time again. The fact that Washington was able to squeak into the bubble was an astonishment.

In the case of Oladipo, he only played 13 games this season and was still trying to find his rhythm. The Indiana Pacers without him were able to hover around the fifth seed and have been able to have a solid gameplan without him in the lineup. 

Then, there is Avery Bradley of the Los Angeles Lakers who elected to stay home and watch his team compete from a championship. Bradley was a great role player off the bench and could be hard to replace on the defensive end. At the same time, as long as the Lakers have LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the mix, is the loss of Bradley going to be an overwhelming loss?

Next is the list of quality roles players like Davis Bertans (Washington Wizards), Spencer Dinwiddie, and DeAndre Jordan (Brooklyn Nets). In their own right, each of these three is excellent in what they were signed to do, but is there any expectation that any three of these are going to do anything special in the postseason this year?

Vegas has their picks already set. Furthermore, historically speaking, It is tough to really find a team that held low expectations and ran the table. The NBA is just not built that way.

The Bucks, Celtics, Lakers, and Clippers are all headed into Orlando at what appears to be full strength. As long as those guys hang around, it will be tough to measure the significance of other players opting out who do not play for these teams.