Meyers Leonard Wants 5 Games Then Playoffs If NBA Returns from COVID-19 Hiatus

Miami Heat big man Meyers Leonard told ESPN's Arda Ocal that he wants to see the NBA hold five more regular-season games once the league's COVID-19 hiatus ends before jumping into the postseason. 

"That's ultimately what everyone wants to see," Leonard said of the postseason. "That's why players play, they play for a championship. ... And so, I would think we would need at least five games or so to get our legs underneath us and then, boom, right into the playoffs and figure out who's the champ."

At present, the Heat (41-24) would be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and would face the Indiana Pacers in a first-round series. Just two games separate the Heat from the Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers. 

Some teams may balk at such a short regular season upon resumption of basketball, however. The Washington Wizards (24-40), for instance, sit 5.5 games back of the Orlando Magic for the No. 8 spot in the East. Catching them with the 18 games the Wizards have left on their schedule would be a tall task, no doubt, but possible. Catching them with a regular season shortened to five games would obviously be mathematically impossible. 

Granted, it remains unclear if the 2019-20 season will resume at all amid the coronavirus pandemic, so all options remain on the table, from pushing the league calendar back into the late summer and perhaps even autumn to canceling some or all remaining regular-season games.