The 2019-20 NBA season went on hiatus on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) will host all games for the remainder of the 2020 season and the upcoming 2020 NBA Playoffs at this location. The moratorium will begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Oct. 18, which is six hours before the annual moratorium. That decision was made to safeguard the health and well-being of NBA … The teams at the top of the board haven’t changed much, as the Los Angeles Lakers are still the slight favorites to win the 2020 NBA Finals at +220, odds that mean one would net $2.20 for each $1 wagered on the team winning a record-tying 17The cross-town rival Los Angeles Clippers are just a hair behind the Lakers at +275. The Houston Rockets at +2000 round out the top five teams with the best championship odds going into the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Play-in for the 8th seeds. The Toronto Raptors, who posted a 46-18 record—third best in the league—prior to the NBA suspending play, are just 25-1 to defend their title. 8 seed in the East, compiling a 30-34 record before the shutdown despite only getting 20 games from star point guard Kyrie Irving and having prized offseason acquisition Kevin Durant sidelined for the entire campaign as he recovered from injury. LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - MARCH 03: A general view of the ESPN Wide World of Sports entrance. After the league’s big announcement, bookmakers updated championship odds for all 22 teams set to partake in the abbreviated finish to the 2020 NBA season and upcoming playoffs. Four teams—the Trail Blazers, Heat, Magic and Lakers—will not be able to reach eight games this way, so it is presumed that they will match up with one another to reach that number. The organization was on its way to earning a No. The lottery is scheduled to be held on August 25, with the draft itself slated for October 15. The NBA season is set to resume on July 30. The Finals will also be shortened down to games every other day, which means it will take less than two weeks—Game 7 would take place no later than October 12—to determine a champion after the conference finals wrap up. After shutting down in mid-March with the rest of the sporting world due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league’s owners and players association approved a plan that will see 22 of 30 teams—the 16 current playoff teams and the six teams within six games of their conference’s No. It will be the same. The conference semifinals begin August 31. Each of the 22 teams involved in the NBA’s abbreviated return will play eight seeding games to help finalize the 2020 NBA Playoff bracket. For those wishing to make a futures bet on the upcoming restart of the NBA season, check back soon to get pro predictions from handicapper Jon Price of I've been working in the realm of sports my entire career, starting as a breaking news writer right out of Arizona State University. Brooklyn has since started trending back towards being a massive longshot, however, after Durant claimed that his season was officially over due to the Achilles injury suffered in last year’s Finals, while Irving said he won’t be making the trip to Florida for any reason but to support his teammates. One of LA’s biggest red flags this year is home/road splits, as the team has gone 26-7 at the Staples Center (a record that includes one ‘road’ game against the Lakers) and just 18-13 away from it. The Dallas Mavericks will have played the most total games (75) and the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers will have played the least (71).The seven teams in each conference with the best records (regular-season games + seeding games) will have clinched a playoff spot.