The NBA announced its intent to accelerate the offseason, and begin play on Dec. 22. Here’s a look at what it means for the Portland Trail Blazers.
A mere two weeks following the culmination of the 2019-20 campaign, the NBA’s league office have their target date on when they hope the Portland Trail Blazers and the rest of the league can begin play for the 2020-21 season: December 22nd.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the goal is to have a 72-game season, as well as the return of the Play-In Tournament, and an opportunity to participate in the 2021 Summer Olympics.
The NBA is targeting Dec. 22 for the start of the 2020-21 season and a 72-game campaign that finishes before the ‘21 Olympics, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 23, 2020
That phone call between the league office and the Board of Governors represents mostly positive news, particularly for writers wondering how to create content over 13 Blazers games over what would have been an 11-month span, if the NBA had resumed on Martin Luther King Day, as it had been planned before.
Even so, if the discussion does come into fruition, it still affects the Trail Blazers in more than a few ways.
Assuming you just checked a calendar, this means that the Portland Trail Blazers and the other 29 teams would be tasked with team-building through an NBA Draft, free agency, and orchestrating a training camp, in less than 60 days. And here, you thought those 11:59 essay deadlines were tough.
Thinking specifically about the NBA Draft and the Blazers’ No. 16 selection, if Neil Olshey’s plan is to select one of those long-term reclamation project-type picks, it’s difficult to imagine him being able to contribute right at the start of the season. Getting any prospect ready until that time constraint would be difficult.
There’s a discussion to be had about whether or not keeping the same roster has positive effects. Kevin Pelton did an experiment in an ESPN+ article that highlighted how teams didn’t necessarily jump out to hot starts, despite having continuity on the roster when other teams were ushering in new players and schemes.
But for the Trail Blazers, bringing on too many new faces — a tall task as is with their cap situation — may no longer be ideal, given how little time they will have to teach them the ropes.
Could that mean that players like Carmelo Anthony and Hassan Whiteside are more likely to be back? Or, if the Blazers do attack free agency, are they only focused on veteran players?
That’s speculation, but what we do know is that it places focus on injured returnees like Rodney Hood and Zach Collins. Hood tore his Achilles on Dec. 6, 2019, and it had been repeatedly stated that he could be set to return for the start of next season.
It could be important to remember: at the time of that, there was no pandemic. So, we were under the assumption that the season would begin at its normal mid-October start time.
Should the season begin on Dec. 22, Hood will have had a year and some change since the last time we stepped onto the hardwood. It could be of note that former Trail Blazers wing Wesley Matthews made history with the fastest return from a torn Achilles at 7½ months, per ESPN.com’s Eric Woodyard. He also said Hood would be on pace for a December return in an article on Jun. 16.
Collins’ situation is a bit different, given how recent the injury was. On Aug. 21, he underwent surgery to repair a hairline fracture in his ankle. There hasn’t quite been a timetable set, but recent history suggests it could be a few months.
In 2018, Chicago Bulls swingman Denzel Valentine was out four-to-six months. In 2013, Kings center Alex Len underwent ankle surgery before the 2013 NBA Draft, and was out for four-to-six months, as well.
The Dec. 22 start would be right at the doorstep of four months for Collins, which — and I’m no health expert — would mean that Collins would probably miss the start if history tells us anything.
That alludes to a different worry one has to have. During the last true, shortened season in 2011-12, the NBA experienced an uptick in soft-tissue injuries because of the abnormal training schedule.
For a different sport example, one could look at the NFL season, during their lockout in 2011. They saw a rise in tendon and tissue injuries at a historic rate. The NBA is likely to keep players’ health at the forefront, though.
In the meantime, the Portland Trail Blazers could benefit from freshness, given that a lot of the top-tier Western Conference teams recently just ended grueling postseason play a month ago. That extra month could be instrumental toward a hot start.
There’s not yet even a schedule to make overreactions about. But if Blazers are poised for Yuletide showdowns in the future, there are certainly pros as well as cons. But overall, the benefits likely outweigh.