Name: Report: NBA planning to start next season on Christmas
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Report: NBA planning to start next season on Christmas

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The current NBA season – interrupted by coronavirus – could extend as late as . That means the league must delay next season. How long past the normal mid-October start? was the popular notion, but that’s still a wide timeframe.Now, we can pinpoint it.:If the N.B.A. can successfully complete the 2019-20 season under this structure, it is expected that the 2020 N.B.A. draft would be moved to October, with free agency to follow shortly thereafter and a tentative plan to establish Dec. 25 as opening day for the 2020-21 season.Coronavirus can ruin the best-laid plans. Though NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said , it’s unclear whether that would delay this season’s schedule – then the offseason then next season. It’s also unknown how the country will be handling coronavirus in December. The cold weather, pushing people indoors, could increase cases.But it’s still interesting to know the plan, even if it’s tentative.People fondly recall the NBA season starting on Christmas in 2011. Many have pointed to Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin’s idea of to avoid overlap with the NFL, though he suggested mid-December – not Christmas.That’s quite late.This year, coronavirus has forced radical changes. A Christmas start might be totally reasonable for the 2020-21 season.What about beyond?If the NBA wants to begin each season on Christmas, this is the simplest time to shift. A different start date for future seasons would require .There are plenty of issues with opening on Christmas in normal times, though:BERLIN — got ejected, and Greece’s hopes of bringing home a European championship ended not long afterward.Germany, meanwhile, is taking full advantage of its home-court edge.Dennis Schroder scored 26 points, had a 13-point, 16-rebound effort and host Germany moved into the EuroBasket semifinals with a 107-96 win over Greece on Tuesday.Antetokounmpo had a monster game for Greece — 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 30 minutes. But he also picked up two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, the last of those leading to his ejection with 4:56 left.Giannis was ejected from Greece's quarterfinal game against Germany following this unsportsmanlike foul call.— ESPN (@espn) Greece was down by 14 when he committed his second such foul, and Germany maintained full control the rest of the way.Germany now has a chance at what would be just its second medal in its last 13 appearances at EuroBasket. The Germans won the European title in 1993 and were second in 2005; assured of no worse than fourth now, this tournament will mark their best EuroBasket finish since that silver-medal showing.“I think this is unbelievable for German basketball, the way this team, the way these players have performed on their home soil up to now,” Germany coach Gordie Herbert said. “I think the way they’ve played, the way we’ve played, people can relate to. They see an identity.”Greece and Serbia were the only two teams that made it through the group stage of EuroBasket with unbeaten records, both 5-0 and led by a pair of two-time NBA MVPs – Antetokounmpo for Greece, Nikola Jokic for Serbia.One of the finest 𝘿𝙐𝙀𝙇𝙎 ⚔️Greek Freak and Dennis the Menace gifted us a great game 🍿— FIBA (@FIBA) Then came the knockout stage, and the records no longer mattered. Serbia and Jokic were ousted in the round of 16 by Italy; Antetokounmpo and Greece are now gone as well.“We really enjoyed the ride,” Greece coach Dimitrios Itoudis said. “We really enjoyed the journey. I think that we made a lot of people proud with the way that this team performs. We wanted to go more, but it didn’t happen this time.”Giannoulis Larentzakis scored 18 points on only five shot attempts for Greece; he was 5 for 5 from the field, four of those from 3-point range, and was 4 for 6 from the foul line. added 13 for Greece. and Andreas Obst had 19 points apiece for Germany, which plays Spain in Friday’s semifinals.“It was a really physical game,” Wagner said. “A lot of points. We found our rhythm really early and I think we did a way better job collectively guarding them in the second half.”For the , Spain – the defending champions – will play in the semifinals after defeating Finland 100-90 on Tuesday. finished the contest with 27 points, five rebounds and a block while shooting 10-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. His team edged out a Finland squad led by Jazz forward who had a game to remember. Markkanen scored a game-high 28 points and added 11 boards, three dimes, two steals and two triples.Lauri Markkanen 🆚 Willy HernangomezBattle of North and South was 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐑 ⚔️— FIBA (@FIBA) Finland started the game hot, jumping out to an early 30-19 lead. The Finnish squad led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Spain’s veterans kept their composure and chipped away at the lead to cut it to 52-43 at the half.After the break, it was Spain’s turn to get hot. The Spanish team opened the second half with a 14-5 run, with Willy accounting for 10 points and treating the fans to multiple dunks in the process.…and he was up in the air quite a lot 💥— FIBA (@FIBA) &nbsp;That run tied the game at 57 before a Joel Parra three-pointer put Spain up 60-57 – a lead it wouldn’t relinquish., but Spain kept its poise and delivered a trio of threes in the final minutes to go up by as many as 11 on the way to an unprecedented 11th straight trip to the Eurobasket semifinals.The road to the Eurobasket Final and a back-to-back championship won’t be easy for Spain, with . Germany is led by a pair of NBA players in Dennis Schroder and , while Greece features two-time MVP and his brothers.You know you're in trouble when this happens:— FIBA (@FIBA) For Spain, Willy’s brother Juancho Hernangomez had 15 points and four boards and Rockets’ second-year man notched seven points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in just 16 minutes. For Finland, Mikael Jantunen scored 18, Alexander Madsen had 13 and Sasu Salin added 13.Despite the loss, Markkanen ends the tournament on a high note. In five games, he averaged 23.0 points and 9.4 boards, . Markkanen’s fantasy value jumped significantly when he was , but will his impressive Eurobasket performance boost his stock even more?The fact that Lauri Markkanen will be drafted a round or two early B/C he balled out in a few games for Finland is pretty fun.— Steve Alexander (@docktora)After nearly a year-long investigation, the NBA released a statement on Tuesday that detailed their findings in regards to Robert Sarver and both Phoenix professional basketball teams.The investigation, which included interviews with 320 individuals and more than 80,000 documents, yielded a number of findings of Sarver’s inappropriate workplace behavior, including:The NBA today issued the following statement:— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) As a result of the investigation, Sarver was suspended for one year, which means that he won’t be allowed at any NBA/WNBA event facility, allowed to represent the Suns or Mercury in any way, or be involved with any business or basketball operations within either organization or either league. Sarver was also fined $10 million and will be required to complete a training program that focuses on respect and appropriate conduct in the workplace.$10 million is the maximum amount that the NBA is allowed to fine. They will donate the money to organizations that are focused on racial and gender-based issues both in and out of the workplace.“While I disagree with some of the particulars of the NBA’s report, I would like to apologize for my words and actions that offended our employees,” Sarver said in a statement. “I take full responsibility for what I have done. I am sorry for causing this pain, and these errors in judgment are not consistent with my personal philosophy or my values.“I accept the consequences of the NBA’s decision. This moment is an opportunity for me to demonstrate a capacity to learn and grow as we continue to build a working culture where every employee feels comfortable and valued.”The Phoenix Suns released this statement:— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) The report indicates that Sarver “engaged in conduct that clearly violated common workplace standards, as reflected in team and League rules and policies. This conduct included the use of racially insensitive language; unequal treatment of female employees; sex-related statements and conduct; and harsh treatment of employees that on occasion constituted bullying.”While the NBA says Robert Sarver "cooperated fully with the investigative process," sources tell and me that the Suns owner was unaccepting of idea he deserved a one-year suspension and $10M fine for his behavior. The punitive part of process became largely acrimonious.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) Along with those findings, the investigation did a deeper dive into workplace misconduct within the Suns’ organization that wasn’t related to Sarver, where they found evidence of racial insensitivity, mistreatment of female employees, inappropriate comments on sex or sexual orientation, and other disrespectful communication.Commissioner Adam Silver commented on the result of the investigation in the NBA’s press release.“The statements and conduct described in the findings of the independent investigation are troubling and disappointing,” Silver said. “We believe the outcome is the right one, taking into account all the facts, circumstances and context brought to light by the comprehensive investigation of this 18-year period and our commitment to upholding proper standards in NBA workplaces.“I am hopeful that the NBA community will use this opportunity to reflect on what this great game means to people everywhere and the values of equality, respect and inclusion that it strives to represent. Regardless of position, power or intent, we all need to recognize the corrosive and hurtful impact of racially insensitive and demeaning language and behavior. On behalf of the entire NBA, I apologize to all of those impacted by the misconduct outlined in the investigators’ report. We must do better.”The full report can be downloaded from this link:is not lacking for confidence.One big question hanging over the was a basic one: Could Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns play together?Towns expressed extreme confidence when explaining why this pairing would work .“The last time I had something like this, obviously I had , I played [power forward] a lot of years in the NBA. Fans forgot that. It’s OK,” Towns told CBS Sports. “And go back to me in college. This is how I played in college. is like 7-2. I don’t know what they’re missing in that…“I think that Rudy’s one of the best defensive players we’ve ever had in the NBA. He has the hardware to prove it,” Towns told CBS Sports. “I think I’m one of the best offensive players and talents the NBA has ever seen. So putting us together gives us really a whole spectrum of talent to use.”. And he is unquestionably a versatile and gifted offensive player, an All-NBA center who averaged 24.6 points and 9.8 rebounds a game last season. Timberwolves fans should want a player who believes he’s one of the best offensive talents the game has ever seen — just know in reality that is a long list. It’s a tough ladder to climb.Towns has played next to other bigs but has always spent at least 95% of his time at the five, according to stats. Offensively it’s easier to see how these Timberwolves fit, Gobert is more of a roll man while Towns can space the floor (30% of his shot attempts last season came from 3, and he hit 41% of them). They should be able to play off each other.Defense is the bigger question: How well can Towns and Gobert defend in space against teams that play smaller at the four and even the five? How will the two bigs defend against an increasingly positionless league?“I’ve had a lot of fun playing on the perimeter and guarding on the perimeter,” Towns told CBS Sports. “Just really getting a chance to utilize what some of my strengths are defensively, which is switching and being able to guard one through five. I’m having fun going out there and being able to back Rudy up when he needs to muscle with fives or fours and we’re playing big lineups or whatever, and then if they go small ball I feel very comfortable with my chances of guarding guards and stuff like that, the wings.”Towns’ comfort level defending on the perimeter will be tested this season, especially come the playoffs (when teams have made life difficult in the past for Gobert by forcing him to choose protecting the rim vs. covering a floor-spacing shooter). The Timberwolves will be good and much improved, but how good will depend partly on how well they answer the tough defensive questions.We know this much: Towns is not going into this season lacking for confidence.Powered by

The current NBA season – interrupted by coronavirus – could extend as late as . That means the league must delay next season. How long past the normal mid-October start? was the popular notion, but that’s still a wide timeframe.Now, we can pinpoint it.:If the N.B.A. can successfully complete the 2019-20 season under this structure, it is expected that the 2020 N.B.A. draft would be moved to October, with free agency to follow shortly thereafter and a tentative plan to establish Dec. 25 as opening day for the 2020-21 season.Coronavirus can ruin the best-laid plans. Though NBA commissioner...

Report: NBA planning to start next season on Christmas

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