First of all, I’m just hoping that the NBA is coming back. So far the NBA has only suspended the NBA Season, they haven’t canceled it yet (THANK GOD). This is the only thing that’s keeping me going. I NEED basketball in my life. I’ve been going crazy without it. I was extremely bummed when they canceled the March Madness tournament, so the NBA season is my only hope. (Fuck the Coronavirus) I find it interesting though because with the playoffs just a mere 20 games away, it can actually help quite a bit of NBA teams. It really helps those teams that have been dealing with injuries and are still in the playoff race.
San Antonio Spurs
I know this makes me seem like a fanboy, given that that Spurs are my team. But looking analytically at this, the Spurs have a lot to benefit from this Coronavirus hiatus. Even though some people believe that Coach Pop has lost his fastball, he’s still a damn good coach. This time is probably being used for the film on upcoming teams and the Spurs themselves. While Spurs fans (like myself) have been screaming for more Lonnie Walker minutes, and maybe even more Keldon Johnson minutes, Popovich just hasn’t noticed or just doesn’t care. Bryn Forbes and Marco Belinelli are defensive liabilities for the Spurs, however, they combine for at least 30 minutes of the game. They provide decent scoring, that is, when they are hitting their shots. When they don’t, what do they do then?
I think Marco Belinelli is garbage, but he still gets decent minutes. Hopefully, this hiatus will give them time to review the film and make the rotations better. The Spurs do have some injuries as well. Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl are injured and were expected to be out for a little. This gives them a chance to get healthy and make one final push for the playoffs. The Spurs are only 4 games out of 8th, unfortunately, for the Spurs, there are 3 other teams that are only 3.5 games out of 8th. The Spurs can still make the playoffs, but their rotations depend on it.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies don’t have too many concerning injuries that they need to worry about. However, Brandon Clarke, who has been great for the Grizzlies, is currently out. This Coronavirus hiatus helps them get back a key player to help them stay at the 8th seed and being to able to at least compete with the #1 seed, who looks like it’ll be the Los Angeles Lakers. So why put them on this list? The Grizzlies are a very young team. With young teams, especially late in the season, the fatigue of the long season takes its toll. This hiatus helps them just because it’s valuable rest time for this young team. When this is all over, the Memphis Grizzlies, who are a fun team to watch, will be fresh and ready to get rolling if the season comes back. This hiatus only helps them as the race for the 8th seed only gets more competitive.
Sacramento Kings
After a real shaky start, the Kings are still in the mix for the 8th seed surprisingly. The Kings really only have one injury on the books but it is one of their best players in Marvin Bagley III. The Kings need all the help they can get to make that playoff push. Although, I’m not convinced that Luke Walton is a good coach, but just having that talent on the floor will be beneficial for the Kings. They are currently 3.5 games out of 8th right now.
Washington Wizards
I bet you didn’t expect to see the Wizards on here. The fact of the matter is, the Wizards still have a realistic shot to make the playoffs. They are still 5.5 games out of 8th in the Eastern Conference, which is a stretch for them to get back in. However, there’s a possibility that John Wall can still come back with this Coronavirus hiatus. If he can, that will only increase the chance the Wizards have of making the playoffs if they decide to play the last 20 games they have left. With John Wall, Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, and Rui Hachimura leading the way, the Wizards can really make a late playoff push to scare the Magic, the current 8th seed.
Indiana Pacers
These next 3 teams are who the hiatus helps the most. Starting with the Pacers, this has always been a sneaky favorite for me. They’ve been a dark horse team in the Eastern Conference to make some noise in the playoffs and maybe even upset some teams. However, that hope seemed lost when they lost Jeremy Lamb for the season and Malcolm Brogdon being injured for some time. They were still going to make the playoffs, but they lost out on talent and would have more difficulty beating anyone with their injuries. Now, with the Coronavirus hiatus, Malcolm Brogdon will come back from injury and be fresh. There’s even a chance that Jeremy Lamb, who has been a solid bench scorer for the Pacers, can come back depending on the length of the hiatus. The longer it lasts, the more hope I have for Jeremy Lamb to come back and in turn, make some noise in the Eastern Conference.
Portland TrailBlazers
I don’t know if a team that has had worse luck than the Blazers. After being in the Western Conference Finals just last year, the Blazers have been plagued with injuries. Their defense has been horrible due to the fact that their defensive players have been injured for most of the year. I thought this team was going to be scary this year and it’s proved the opposite. Things did get better for the Blazers after signing Carmelo Anthony but just not enough. Luckily for the Blazers, this Coronavirus hiatus helps them tremendously. When this hiatus is over, they’ll be getting back Jursuf Nurkic and Zach Collins, which will be solid frontcourt depth.
With Hassan Whiteside and Nurkic, the Blazers frontcourt because something that deserves to be feared. This could not get better for the Blazers as they have a chance to be fully healthy while only 3.5 games out of 8th. If they play the rest of their games, the Blazers have a great chance to steal the 8th seed, and spoiler alert, I think they have a solid chance to upset the Los Angeles Lakers if that’s their matchup.
Brooklyn Nets
No team, and I mean NO TEAM, benefits more from this hiatus than the Brooklyn Nets. I want to brag a little bit: everyone counted out this Nets team last season and said they wouldn’t make the playoffs. However, I saw sneaky potential with this team last year. They kept a lot of the same key players from last year and then added more talent on top of that. That talent being Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, we all knew Kevin Durant would be our for this season…or so we thought? With this Coronavirus hiatus, Kevin Durant has a chance to come back just in time for the Nets to make some SERIOUS noise in the playoffs. It seems that everyone forgot how good KD is, don’t worry, he’ll remind you. The longer this hiatus is, the more I think KD will end up playing in the playoffs.
But isn’t Kyrie Irving injured too? Sure, but this only gives him that chance as well to come back from injury and do what he came to Brooklyn for, which is to play with Kevin Durant. The KD-Kyrie duo is one of the best scoring duos we will ever see and the Eastern Conference, no, the NBA should be terrified. You’re rolling out with a team of Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Kevin Durant, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan, Joe Harris, Wilson Chandler, Taurean Prince, and Garrett Temple? Yeah, good luck NBA. Y’all better hope that KD, much less Kyrie and KD, don’t come back. If they do, the Nets are looking at a Championship.
