NBA Reportedly Targeting Oct. 12 as Latest Possible Date for NBA Finals Game 7

The NBA has reportedly identified Oct. 12 as the latest possible date for Game 7 of the NBA Finals this season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Woj also reported that the league was working toward a July 31 return to game action with 22 teams at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, and a finalized plan would be voted on at Thursday's Board of Governors meeting. The league and the players association are still working out the finer points of the plan. 

There are plenty of questions regarding the likely 22-team format the league will adopt upon its resumption.

Will every team play several games before a play-in tournament and postseason, or will the league go immediately to a play-in tournament? Will the 22 teams be chosen by record or split evenly among the two conferences? If they simply go by record, will the postseason then be seeded by record rather than split into an Eastern and Western Conference playoff format?

Those are important questions, especially when you consider that the 13th-best team in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns (26-39), currently has a better record than the ninth-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards (24-40).

It seems likely that the NBA would only include teams that would have a realistic chance of getting into the postseason if the regular season was proceeding as normal. Those teams would include the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Suns and Wizards. But that means a play-in situation could look far different in the two conferences. 

In the past, the league has rejected the idea of bypassing the conference format and simply seeding the best 16 teams, as travel concerns could come into play. Teams on the East Coast facing teams on the West Coast could create logistical issues with travel during a seven-game series, for instance.   

That wouldn't be an issue if every team was based in Orlando, however, making a complete seeding based on record a fascinating (and potentially fun) idea. NBA fans will likely have those answers after Thursday's Board of Governors call.