You can certainly argue that the NBA is working as expected. The league’s COVID-19 safeguards – euphemistically known as health and safety protocols – wreaked havoc on several teams during the first half of January. The Sixers played with only seven healthy bodies. Four games were postponed over a three-day period. The Mavericks had four players who tested positive for the coronavirus, and their practice facility was later closed. The Wizards canceled training on January 12 for reasons related to COVID-19 – after the Heat, the 76ers and the Celtics had players enter the protocol after games against Washington the week before. Shorthanded lists are a feature – not a bug – when it comes to the 2020-2021 season. Playing during a pandemic means that the league has to be extremely diligent to prevent a massive outbreak, so even people who have been exposed only to someone else with the virus are isolating themselves. It is an obvious practice that, although frustrating, tries to minimize the risks so that the games continue to be squeezed.
I already wrote once about the changing nature of this season, how difficult it was to separate what was real from what was the result of complicated factors. That was before teams like the Heat and the Sixers had to play games with reduced lineups as a result of COVID-19. As the NBA goes through a deadly period in American history, what has become real is this: the product is no longer the priority.
It is tempting to examine the NBA’s contact tracking guidelines – does a post-game conversation carry more weight than the previous 48 minutes? Could players receive guests in their hotel rooms? – but these rules were made in conjunction with doctors and scientists to find out how far on the ledge the alloy could go without falling. It is also tempting to discover the “easy” solution to make this season safe. Perhaps a bubble – except for a long-term one, is very expensive and very harmful to mental health. Perhaps a break in the season – except that it doesn’t necessarily mean less exposure to the virus, due to the lack of stoppages across the country. Perhaps players should be vaccinated – except that the look of athletes in good shape getting stabbed while grandparents are still waiting for a website to load would be difficult, even though supply seems not to be a problem.
The easiest trick to fall into when trying to figure out what the NBA should do next is to think that the league is one or two steps away from opening the door to normalcy. The board of directors and player associations updated the rules on January 12, telling players not to go anywhere except for team activities and essential activities, which means that they need to stay at home or at the hotel when they don’t playing. Players also cannot see anyone outside their immediate circle for the next two weeks. It is the type of block that more people should be doing, except everywhere they go to work. It’s a bubble-free version of the bubble, and the rules are so restrictive that Thunder guard George Hill was blunt when asked about the new standards: “If it’s so serious, maybe we shouldn’t be playing.”
Of course, the league is determined to end this season. Financial stakes, in the eyes of owners and players, are too big to wait for things to pass, play fewer games or cancel the season. As a country, we have long gone beyond making thousands upon thousands of deaths a higher priority than money, especially as governments at all levels refuse to help and / or encourage people to stay at home. For the NBA, moving from 2021 means putting everything back on track for the 21 to 22 season. If the league can avoid catastrophe – depending on its definition of the term – the next season will begin after an appropriate summer break, with the fans probably back in the stands and the league’s financial health in many ways back on the path that was once the pandemic. Passing 21 also means strange bursts, additional risk of injury for teams with few players who play tight and expensive schedules like Joel Embiid publicly complaining about league decision-making. Nothing would make the 20-21 campaign “normal”, except wait until things were considerably safer.
This is not to say that there will be no big games in the meantime. Or that LeBron will not be responsible for the highlights every night. Or that players will send it in the mail. But nobody can pretend that this season is about preserving what happens between the four lines of the court. What we’re watching may look like the NBA, but that’s not it. The bubble at least allowed players to focus on basketball. What we’re watching now are lineups that are often wiped out, guys who haven’t played in nine months, and fanless games that sucked a lot out of what makes this sport incredible, all happening against the backdrop of a rising death toll because our institutions don’t stomach to face the virus harshly. To call this a farce season would be an insult to players who are still wasting every ounce of energy they have on the ground, but it would also be foolish to pretend that it is anything but a glorified bridge back to the real NBA.
There are no good options here. In a functioning society, the league probably would not have returned and the government would close its doors while helping people financially. This is obviously not the case. Moving forward means accepting that the virus will infiltrate, and that means accepting that the league has to contort constantly to keep the games going while trying to avoid a total and reckless transmission.
I’m not even upset with the league. Companies were left to their own devices during this pandemic, and this is the result. But the consequences are being felt on the ground. Perhaps when the playoffs arrive and more people get the vaccine, the move will seem more rewarding. For the time being, the decision of the league and players to continue to face this mine-laden pandemic means relying on the protocols in place to keep games on schedule. Unfortunately, while these strict protocols may work to allow the season to continue, the longer the league stays in that reality, the less the games look like the NBA.