NBA To Resume 2019-20 Season: Key Dates, Odds, News Updates

By Bill Speros Mar 14th, 2024 7:22 AM EDT

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The NBA resumes play at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando on July 30, nearly five months after the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Each of the 22 teams in the “bubble” will play eight regular-season games to determine playoff seeding in their respective conference. The top eight teams in each conference will advance to the playoffs. There are nine teams from the Eastern Conference represented, and 13 from the Western Conference. There will be no fans in attendance. The games will be played inside the Arena, Field House and Visa Athletic Center on the Disney campus, and you can find our daily NBA picks here.

Here are the key days on the NBA calendar through the end of 2020:

NBA 2020 Calendar

July 30: Games begin
Aug. 15-16: Play-in tournaments (if nec.)
Aug. 17: Round 1 of playoffs begin
Aug. 25: NBA Draft Lottery
Aug. 31-Sept. 13: Round 2 of playoffs
Sept. 15-28: Conference Finals
Sept. 30: NBA Finals begin
Oct. 12: Game 7 of the Finals (if nec.)
Oct. 15: NBA Draft
Oct. 18: Free-agency begins
Nov. 10: Training camp begins
Dec. 1: 2020-21 season begins

The NBA season was shut down on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Teams began arriving in Orlando this week. Players will be housed, train and play on Disney property and won’t be allowed to leave their designated areas. They will be asked to follow strict public-health guidelines, in addition to undergoing routine virus testing. Family members will be allowed to join players after the first round of the playoffs.

CHECK OUT: Ultimate Betting Guide to 2020 NBA Playoffs

The Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans begin the NBA restart with a 6:30 p.m. ET tip on July 30. That game will be followed by a potential Western Conference Finals preview as the Los Angeles Lakers face off against the Los Angeles Clippers at 9 p.m. Both games will be televised on TNT.

Lakers, Bucks Favorites To Win NBA Title

The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James are +240 favorites to win the NBA championship, according to oddsmakers at DraftKings. The Milwaukee Bucks are close behind at +250. They are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo. The only other team within range is the Los Angeles Clippers at +330. They hope to ride the hot streak of Kawhi Leonard in the postseason to their first-ever championship going back to their days as the Buffalo Braves.

Below are the NBA standings and seedings of the teams invited to compete in Orlando when play resumes. The top eight teams in each conference will reach the postseason. There are more teams in the West in contention for the final playoff spot, and therefore more teams in play. Teams are listed with their current odds to win the NBA title, via bet365, and regular-season records.

Eastern Conference

Team	Title Odds	Record
1. Milwaukee Bucks	+225	53-12
2. Toronto Raptors	+1600	46-18
2. Boston Celtics	+1800	43-21
4. Miami Heat	+2800	41-24
5. Indiana Pacers	+8000	39-2)
6. Philadelphia 79ers	+2000	39-26
7. Brooklyn Nets	+10000	30-34
8. Orlando Magic	+15000	30-35
9. Washington Wizards	+30000	24-40

Western Conference

Team	Title Odds	Record
1. Los Angeles Lakers	+225	49-14
2. Los Angeles Clippers	+325	44-20
3. Denver Nuggets	+2500	43-22
4. Utah Jazz	+2200	41-23
5. Oklahoma City Thunder	+7000	40-24
6. Houston Rockets	+1400	40-24
7. Dallas Mavericks	+3300	40-27
8. Memphis Grizzlies	+12500	32-33
9. Portland Trail Blazers	+10000	29-37
10. New Orleans Pelicans	+8000	28-36
11. Sacramento Kings	+25000	28-36
12. San Antonio Spurs	+20000	27-36
13. Phoenix Suns	+25000	26-39

While teams and players arrived in Orlando, there were several players who did not. Here is the latest list of confirmed players of note who will not be playing at Walt Disney World when the season resumes and the reason why.

Player, Team	Reason
DeAndre Jordan, Brooklyn Nets	COVID-19 +
Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets	COVID-19 +
Wilson Chandler, Brooklyn Nets	Personal Concerns
Willie Cauley-Stein, Dallas Mavericks	Personal Concerns
Avery Bradley, Los Angeles Lakers	Personal Concerns
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers	Injury
Trevor Ariza, Portland Trail Blazers	Personal Concerns
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards	Injury
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets	Injury
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets	Injury
Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz	Injury

Play-In Tournament For Final Seed Possible

Before play begins, teams will compete in three intersquad scrimmages from July 22-28 in final preparation for the resumption of the season.

There will be a play-in tournament between the No. 8 and No. 9 team if the gap between the two teams is four games or fewer at the conclusion of the eight-game, regular-season conclusion. That play-in series will be a best-of-two event where the No. 9 team will have to win two straight games, while the No. 8 team will have to win only one to advance.

Among the other NBA futures odds that bettors can wager on is whether or not several teams on the playoff bubble will make the playoffs. The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson are at +290 to make the playoffs in the West and -435 miss the playoffs. Williamson, who missed the first 44 games of the regular season, is now +1400 to in Rookie of the Year odds at DraftKings, while Ja Morant of the Grizzlies is -5000.

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About the Author

Bill Speros

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Bill Speros is an award-winning journalist and editor whose career includes stops at USA Today Sports Network / Golfweek, Cox Media, ESPN, Orlando Sentinel and Denver Post.