Why the NBA is ahead of the NHL in returning to play

Why was the NBA’s announcement to return better and more well thought out than the NHL’s?

I’m nowhere near a big NBA fan. My team, the New Jersey Nets has given me not but disappointment and failure throughout my lifetime. Sure, my favorite NHL team, the New Jersey Devils aren’t great now, but they have given me three Stanley Cups in my lifetime. The Nets have given me nothing. Not only that, but they abandoned me and left for Brooklyn.

However the NBA is beating the NHL in their return to play format. While the NHL announced their extremely vague “return to play”, basketball put theirs out the water with a firm plan that answers almost every question fans, players and media might have.

It’s also stunningly easier to understand than the NHL proposal. Seriously I need an accountant to help me figure out draft lottery odds after listening to Gary Bettman’s press conference.

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When ESPN said that “the NBA is back”, they meant it. Even if it’s a month and a half before games resume its definitive done deal. Meanwhile the NHL’s entire plan is still a work in progress. Why did the NBA do it better than the NHL? Let’s look at three of their details:

Specific Locations

Part of the NHL’s plan includes using two hub cities for teams in the 24 team playoff to stay in. The league hasn’t finalized the two cities yet, only releasing a list of the ten.

Las Vegas is a definite, but the second one is completely up for grabs. If I had to guess, the NHL might choose one of their Canadian cities off their list (Edmonton, Toronto or Ontario). Any possible border restrictions between the United States and Canada might complicate things a bit.

Meanwhile, the NBA is returning with a nearly identical amount of teams with 22, but all of them will be playing in one confirmed location. The entirety of the NBA’s resumption of the regular season and playoffs will be played at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This was long speculated since Disney has their ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on site that can handle the NBA’s schedule of games and hotel needs for all teams.

No doubt the agreement was helped by the fact ESPN (the entire company, not only complex) are owned by the Walt Disney Company, and that ESPN is the league’s main media partner. The share a history of cooperation, with Disney even opening an “NBA Experience” at their Disney Springs shopping district in Florida as well. Earlier, we took a look at if the NHL could utilize the same complex, but lack of ice rinks and ice hockey training facilities prevented even the possibility.

Professional athletes in both leagues know they most likely won’t be playing in their home arena when play resumes. While NHL players wonder where they will go, NBA players know exactly where they’ll be.

This isn’t something that the NHL is entirely at fault for, however. Through ESPN the NBA had more access to resources to resume their season. The NHL does have a major partnership with MGM Resorts, the biggest casino owner in Las Vegas. That’s good for giving hotel rooms to NHL players, but training facilities and enough rinks and adequate facilities (MGM does own a portion of T-Mobile Arena) is a different story.

Regular Season Is Coming Back

Neither league was able to finish their regular 82 game schedule before play stopped in Mid-March. The NHL has elected to bring back 24 teams to play in a hybrid regular season and playoffs that includes play off play in series before the actual “playoffs” start. Basically, some teams have to go through a playoffs to get to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the NHL took the same idea but made it much simpler. Any team that had a somewhat chance of earning a playoff spot is included in the 22 teams invited back. Instead of playoff play-ins, the 22 teams will play out eight games of the regular season to finalize seeding and who gets to official making the playoffs. Under certain circumstances the NBA would turn to a tie breaker sort of like the NHL’s play in series, but they would be single elimination.

The NBA clearly and definitively drew a line between where the “regular season” starts and “the playoffs” begin. It’s even more important for the NHL to do so because many conditional draft picks depend on the NHL finally defining what “2020 playoffs” means.

Firm Dates

The NBA plan had one major thing the NHL plan lacked: definitive and firm dates. The NHL plan never specified greater than hockey’s return happening sometime in July. Meanwhile the NBA gave firm dates for not only the season to resume on July 31st, but throughout the playoffs and into the off season.

Hockey fans are left wondering, when with the draft happen? Will it be before or after the NHL’s 24 team playoffs? The NBA has a date for theirs; October 15th after the end of the playoffs. What about the draft lottery?

The only update NHL fans have got is Bettman’s confusing explanation of how draft odds would be effected. The NBA has a date for their draft lottery on August 25th. While hockey fan haven’t even had a chance to think about free agency, the NBA has a date for theirs to begin on October 18th.

Perhaps the biggest question mark is when will the 2020-2021 season take place? Hopefully by then sports return to some sort of normalcy. The NHL gave an extremely broad timeline of possibly starting between November and January. The NBA has its sights set on December 1st.

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The NBA has a clear, concise plan that from our end answers many fans questions. The NHL plan is still a work in progress. Even if hockey fans are ready and excited for the season to resume the NHL’s announcement for a plan was premature. Not every “T” had to be crossed and every “I” had to be dotted, but did anyone feel like they knew more after hearing Bettman talk than beforehand

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