The NBA, should it eventually resume its currently suspended regular season, shouldn’t jump straight to the playoffs, according to LeBron James.
“It discredits the 60-plus games” already played in the battle for postseason seeding, says James.
As the coronavirus global pandemic continues to wreck havoc, LeBron added that he’d be disappointed if players had to initially get back on the court without fans in the stands.
Per ESPN (via the “Road Trippin’ Podcast“):
“What is the word ‘sport’ without ‘fan’?” James asked. “There’s no excitement. There’s no crying. There’s no joy. There’s no back-and-forth … That’s what also brings out the competitive side of the players to know that you’re going on the road in a hostile environment and yes, you’re playing against that opponent in front of you, but you really want to kick the fans’ ass too.
“So to get back on the floor, I would love it. I’m not going to sit here and say nothing. Like, if it’s get out there and get back on the floor 5-on-5 … but like, we can do that in scrimmages. Let’s just go to each other’s practice facility, put out a camera, just scrimmage and livestream it. … I just don’t know how we can imagine a sporting event without fans. It’s just, it’s a weird dynamic.”
James also thinks a truncated regular-season finale of five to 10 games would be necessary before the playoff bracket.
“One thing you can’t just do is go straight to the playoffs,” James said. “Because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys had fighting for that position.”
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