The NBA is (pretty much) Back

The last couple of blogs I have done have been about the potential upcoming football season, college and pros. Since I chatted with you all last … we actually have sports back!

**excuse me while I give the biggest “Welcome Back” celebration of my life**

We have baseball back (for right now), NHL is on its way, and we have the NBA bubble. So, let’s talk buckets.

Is it just me or has anyone else forgotten that we have actually had some of the NBA regular season? This bubble has appeared to be its own world to the point where I forgot that there have been games played before now, that have mattered. This is why you have probably been reading the MVP race articles. I will not be talking about my already-decided NBA Award winners. Although, the battle of The King and The Greek Freak might be what I am most looking forward to. Zion has returned to the bubble, but Ja Morant is my Rookie of the Year with no questions asked.

I don’t need to tell you that games will be tipping off at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort, you already knew that. Although I will remind you (or me) that the Bucks and Raptors top out the East and Los Angeles tops out the West, both of them. Nine teams are representing the East and 13 represent the West upcoming the restart. Each team will be playing eight games in order to determine playoff matchups. If the No. 9 seed finishes within just four games of the No. 8 seed, then they will play head-to-head for that playoff spot. No. 9 will need to beat No. 8 twice in order to compete for the Larry O’Brien hardware.

So, what can we expect?

Something that the Houston Rockets’ stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook were expecting was to have Eric Gordon out there, especially after he was able to use the hiatus to get his health back. James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker … now that is scary. Hopefully we will be able to witness such dominance, but Gordon suffered an ankle injury in a recent scrimmage and is expected to miss at least one week of play.

Kawhi Leonard has had ample load management time off (*sarcastic smirk*) and Paul George has used the time to recover from nagging injuries. This is an LA duo that we have been longing to see its fruition, stay tuned. With only eight regular season games being played the playoff seeds are up for grabs, which means we are going to get the best of the best.

Most people you chat with will inform you that the Bucks will win the East, without hesitation. What if I told you the Raptors have a solid chance to take the Eastern Conference? Kyle Lowry is averaging almost 20 ppg with 7.7 assists, Fred VanFleet is averaging over 15 ppg with 6.6 assists, and Pascal Siakam averages 23.6 ppg with almost 10 rebounds.

It will be interesting to see how this bubble pans things out. We are getting daily updates about new positive COVID-19 cases with the Miami Marlins, and even though the NFL has not kicked off yet there have been positive cases recently reported. This whole bubble thing might not be such a crazy idea after all.

July 30^th, the Jazz and Pelicans will be starting this restart at 6:30 PM on TNT. The night will be capped off with the Lakers taking on the Clippers at 9:00 PM. Yes, Anthony Davis is expected to be playing as he has been dealing with an eye injury.

It’s okay. I’m trying to keep my composure, too. Grab your popcorn.

It is worth noting that the playoffs are not the only thing players are fighting for. NBA players are doing all things inside the bubble, including fighting for the change that this country needs more than anything at all. Even players who were weighing heavily on sitting this season out, there was an opportunity seen to use their platform to amplify the message. Thanks, LeBron, for leading the way. Sports may be the typical distraction for whatever may be happening in the world, but no distraction needed or desired.