16 • June 5-6, 2020 SPORTS (AP) The NBA has told the National Basketball Players Association that it will present a 22-team plan for restarting the season to the league’s board of governors on Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The teams that will be going to the ESPN Wide World Of Sports complex on the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, would play eight games to determine playoff seeding starting around July 31 before the postseason begins, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league has not released its proposal publicly. The plan, once approved, would have 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams going to Disney, and the cutoff being that teams must be within six games of a playoff spot at this point. Playoffs would start in August, and the NBA Finals will likely stretch into October, the person said. The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics already have clinched playoff spots — and, if only eight games are left, that would mean the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets would theoretically have clinched spots as well. The Dallas Mavericks would be virtually assured of clinching a West spot, holding a seven-game lead over eighth-place Memphis. That would mean the Grizzlies, Portland, New Orleans, Sacramento, San Antonio and Phoenix all would be in the running for the No. 8 seed out West. In the East, Washington is six games behind No. 7 Brooklyn and 5 1/2 games behind No. 8 Orlando — so within range of triggering a play-in series. “I’m all in from the state’s perspective,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday in central Florida. “I don’t think you could find a better place than Orlando to do this. I think it’s very exciting.” DeSantis met by phone with NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum on Tuesday. The governor also said the state helped with the plans to make a golf match last month featuring Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — one that raised $20 million for coronavirus relief — happen. And Major League Soccer announced Wednesday a plan to restart its season in Orlando. For an NBA play-in series to happen to determine the No. 8 seed on either playoff bracket, the ninthplace team would have to be within four games of eighth place once the eight-game schedule of lead-in games is completed. If a play-in series occurs, it would basically be a best-of-two — where the No. 9 seed would have to win two headto-head matchups to take over the No. 8 spot. There also would be some jostling for playoff positioning happening in the eight-game restart. In the East, Toronto and Boston are separated by three games for the No. 2 spot, and Miami, Indiana and Philadelphia are separated by two games for the No. 4 spot. Out West, the Clippers, Denver, Utah, Oklahoma City and Houston are all within four games of one another in the race for the No. 2 seed on that bracket. There are still some elements of the restart plan that could be changed, and other matters are still being negotiated — such as how much of a percentage of their salaries players will lose because some regular-season games will be canceled. If 15% of the regular season is not played, which would be the current estimate based on the proposal, players would have to give up roughly $610 million in salary for this season. It’s also unclear what will bransonglobe.com AP source: NBA presents players with plan for season restart happen to the eight teams that would not be vying for a postseason berth under the proposed format — Charlotte, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, New York, Cleveland, Minnesota and Golden State. If the 2020-21 NBA season doesn’t start until December at the earliest, which would seem to be a very real possibility, those teams could go about nine months without playing games, and some have expressed concerns over what that will mean for player development. NFL coaches allowed to return to team facilities on Friday (AP) Coaches will be allowed to return beginning Friday to NFL team facilities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic as the league continues preparation for training camps and its season. Commissioner Roger Goodell told the 32 clubs on Thursday in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that coaching staffs may work from team complexes starting Friday. Previously, only up to 75 people per day could be at the facilities, with coaches and players not seeking treatment for injuries barred. “As has been emphasized in previous advice on reopening facilities, this may occur only if your club has otherwise received necessary permission from state and local governments to reopen its facility,” Goodell wrote. All coaches will count toward the maximum number of club employees in the facility, but that number will be increased to 100 — also subject to governmental regulations and implementation of health protocols developed by the NFL’s medical staff. “Guys are all set up — we’ve got meetings with the players tomorrow; everyone is set up at their homes,” Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Thursday. “I imagine it would be hard; we would hate to have a glitch with the players because we want to go back in the office.” Team facilities were closed in March, and the league developed a phasing plan for them to reopen, pending governmental permission. Goodell said the league would be working with each team’s medical staff to implement a program of COVID-19 testing for the coaching staff and other football personnel “prior to players returning to club facilities.” The commissioner did not mention in the memo when uninjured players might be approved to return to team facilities. It’s likely that won’t be until training camps open next month. “We continue to have active and varied discussions on many subjects,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer. “Any decisions will be a collaborative effort with the league and the players’ association, based on continuation of our phased approach. We obviously want to get to the phase of getting players back in, that’s the next logical step. We share the exact same goals, with the safest possible environment (for players to return).”
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