NBA Training Camps 2020: Start Dates, Schedules and Top Storylines in Orlando
In a little more than three weeks, the 2019-20 NBA season will resume after a hiatus of more than four months. And it's going to be unlike any other time in the league's history.
Only 22 teams have been invited to play in Orlando, Florida, home of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. Each of those teams will play eight seeding games, before 16 teams will advance to this year's NBA playoffs, all of which will be held in a quarantined bubble in Orlando.
The NBA season is scheduled to resume July 30, with the New Orleans Pelicans playing the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Los Angeles Clippers. The schedule gets busier after that, beginning with six games on July 31.
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Before that, however, NBA teams will be taking part in three-week training camps, which are scheduled to begin Thursday. Starting July 22, each of the 22 teams will play three scrimmages over a seven-day span to get ready for the resumption of the season.
Here's a look at the upcoming NBA schedule, along with some key storylines for the rest of the season.
Upcoming NBA Schedule
July 9-29: Training camps in Orlando
July 22-28: Scrimmages (schedule announced by NBA on Saturday)
July 30-Aug. 14: 2019-20 season resumes with seeding games
Aug. 15-16: Play-in tournaments
Aug. 17: NBA playoffs begin (will conclude no later than Aug. 29)
Aug. 25: NBA draft lottery
Aug. 31-Sept. 13: Conference semifinals
Sept. 15-28: Conference finals
Sept. 30: NBA Finals begin
Oct. 13: Last possible date for NBA Finals Game 7
Oct. 16: NBA draft
Oct. 18: NBA free agency begins
Dates are tentative and could change, according to Sam Quinn of CBS Sports
Top NBA Storylines
Who secures No. 8 seed in Western Conference?
In the Eastern Conference, the eight playoff teams are likely set. Although the Washington Wizards, who are currently in ninth, were invited to Orlando, they're 5.5 games back of the Orlando Magic, which could be too much of a deficit to overcome in eight matchups.
Things are a bit closer in the Western Conference. The Memphis Grizzlies are currently in eighth, but the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings are each 3.5 games back. The San Antonio Spurs (four games back) and Phoenix Suns (six games back) will also be in action.
On July 31, Memphis and Portland face off in both teams' first game back. The Grizzlies will then take on the Spurs and Pelicans, so they need to get off to a strong start in order to secure a playoff spot and reach the postseason for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
The Trail Blazers have made the playoffs each of the previous six seasons and lost in the Western Conference Finals last season. The Pelicans will also be a fun team to watch, as rookie forward Zion Williamson had played only 19 games before the season was suspended.
While Memphis is in control of that final Western Conference playoff spot, a bad eight-game stretch could leave it out of the postseason and let one of these other teams get in.
How does the rest of the seeding shape up in the West?
The race for the No. 8 spot won't be the only intriguing battle in the Western Conference. It's a crowded picture behind the Los Angeles Lakers, who have a 5.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 1 seed.
The Clippers have only a 1.5-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the No. 2 seed. And behind the Nuggets, there are four other teams that could work their way up the standings. The Utah Jazz are 1.5 behind Denver, while the Oklahoma City Thunder (2.5 games back of Denver), the Houston Rockets (2.5) and the Dallas Mavericks (four) will also be battling for seeding.
It would be surprising if the Clippers didn't secure the No. 2 seed. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George should thrive with the stakes so high once the teams arrive in Orlando.
Although home-court advantage won't be a factor, seeding could still be important for teams in the playoffs. If the Mavericks move up from the No. 7 spot, they could avoid a first-round series against the Clippers.
There are some teams locked in tight seeding races in the Eastern Conference, too, as the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, who are currently the Nos. 4-6 seeds, are all within two games of each other.
Who are top title contenders?
With the Lakers and Clippers likely to be the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the Western Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors are in good position to secure the top two spots in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee has a 6.5-game lead over Toronto, which is three ahead of the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed.
Even though there haven't been games played since mid-March, it doesn't change the fact that these four teams are still most likely to end this unorthodox season by winning the NBA title.
In LeBron James' first season in Los Angeles the Lakers missed out on the playoffs. But he's now playing alongside Anthony Davis, and once James is in the postseason, you can never count him out. The Clippers also have an experienced playoff competitor in Leonard, who led the Raptors to their first NBA title last season.
Although Toronto no longer has Leonard, it still has many other key players who helped it win the championship last year, including Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry. But the Bucks will be looking to avenge their loss to the Raptors in last year's Eastern Conference Finals and help reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to win his first career championship.
With these four teams likely to be among the last ones remaining in the NBA playoffs, it should be exciting to see them potentially battle it out for this year's NBA title.
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