Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said the NBA season could end at two venues, in Orlando and Las Vegas. “We’re really getting closer,” he said.
There could be not one, as The Athletic thought, but two bubbles commandeered for the NBA’s takeover. Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said Friday that the season, suspended for more than two months because of coronavirus, could resume in six to eight weeks at two sites in Orlando and Las Vegas. The trend regularly mentioned in the media of a return to competition in July in one or two bubbles is becoming more and more thick.
“We’re really getting closer,” Lasry, interviewed on CNBC, said. “We’re going to have a board next Friday and I’m sure it will be on the agenda.” The season has been suspended until further notice since March 11, when French pivot Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) tested positive, and NBA boss Adam Silver is scheduled to report on his fate in early June.
For now, some franchises have reopened their facilities so that their players can train individually, in cities where the guidelines allow. With this first step, “I think the wind seems to be changing and we could hopefully play again in six to eight weeks,” Said Mark Lasry.
The NBA Finals in mid-September?
His prediction was shared by Brooklyn Nets fullback Spencer Dinwiddie, who said the NBA would “return” on June 15 for collective “workouts,” citing “last five games on a venue starting July 15.”
The NBA, which seemed to be considering returning directly to the play-off stage, could finally play a few regular-season games. Such a schedule could see the NBA Finals played in mid-September. All behind closed doors and on television. “I think the hearings will be on the ceiling. Everyone will want to watch this,” added Lasry, confirming the trail of two “bubbles”.
“To make things easier for everyone, I think it will be two venues, maybe Las Vegas for the Western teams, Orlando for the Eastern teams,” said the Bucks co-owner, who had the best record of the season (53 wins – 12 losses) before the forced break. Milwaukee, led by Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, last season’s MVP, is looking for its second league title after the 1971 one.
