Topic: NBA Thread: Brought To You By The Tampa Bay Raptors Of Toronto

[Adrock]

If Disney does do this, I hope the seats are packed with Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals.

Is that a dig at Chinese President Xi Jinping?

[broodwars]

If Disney does do this, I hope the seats are packed with Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals.

Is that a dig at Chinese President Xi Jinping?

You bet it is. I was reminded of it because there was a Pooh stuffed animal in that Korean baseball picture.

Hey, if I was told I bore a remarkable resemblance to one of the most beloved characters in the history of fiction, I'd embrace it. But it bugs the dictator, so I'm happy to pour the salt on that wound.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Don't let the NBA get a hold of this.  They're doing the rest of the season at Disney World, and Disney is not one to scoff at a marketing opportunity.

If Disney does do this, I hope the seats are packed with Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals.

As much as I would live to **** with just one person, I'm gonna need more diversity than that in the background.
And since this is Disney, I'm also expecting full animatronic robots at the announcers booth with the announcers actually doing commentary remotely from a booth somewhere.

[nickmitch]

Ok, hear me out, what if Disney used their animatronic presidents?

[BlackNMild2k1]

I think we may be onto something here.....

but if we can really bring some real tech into play here....
if they could do some stuffed animals (or real dolls) or whatever in the actual audience so it doesn't look so empty for the players, but then give us at home some 3D Mapped CG animated audience in the background, we could be going places with this.

It could be like Real life NBA 2k meets Space Jam, but from Disney (since I don't think Disney has anything to do with Space Jam... WB property). People will tune in for NBA action, but they may stick around to see Mickey Mouse trying to squeeze past Wreck it Ralph to get to the bathroom, and countless other interactions from endless cameos all in the background, intermissions, and halftime shows. Could be pretty entertaining if not asking too much in too short of a time frame.

[Ian Sane]

Part of what sets the atmosphere for a live sporting event is the sound of the crowd.  They go bonkers when the home team does well and tend to get uncomfortably quiet when they don't.  You can put dolls in the stands but it still won't sound right.

I wonder if you could do something where people watching from a livestream could have their voice picked up on mic.  Obviously you have to mix each individual down really low so it isn't like an online meeting with people shouting over each other but it could simulate the noise of a crowd and would react in time with what's happening in the game.  I suppose there could be a problem with people shouting rude things or playing music or something but you could have people monitoring it and cut off problem fans.  Also the idea here is to get 15,000 people's voices recorded at once, mixing together to sound like a crowd.  Doing that an individual's voice would get drowned out, you'll just get the general roars of the crowd.

[nickmitch]

I think we may be onto something here.....

but if we can really bring some real tech into play here....
if they could do some stuffed animals (or real dolls) or whatever in the actual audience so it doesn't look so empty for the players, but then give us at home some 3D Mapped CG animated audience in the background, we could be going places with this.

It could be like Real life NBA 2k meets Space Jam, but from Disney (since I don't think Disney has anything to do with Space Jam... WB property). People will tune in for NBA action, but they may stick around to see Mickey Mouse trying to squeeze past Wreck it Ralph to get to the bathroom, and countless other interactions from endless cameos all in the background, intermissions, and halftime shows. Could be pretty entertaining if not asking too much in too short of a time frame.

Basically House of Mouse just with the NBA as the attraction. Not a bad idea.

[nickmitch]

So, the players are upset that their voices weren't heard when the NBA made plans to restart the season.

[ B ]ecause of the George Floyd tragedy and the powerful movement for racial justice that’s sweeping the nation, some players believe it’s bad optics for a league comprised predominantly of black men to be sequestered in one location for up to three months merely to entertain the masses and ease the league’s economic burden.

...

Kyrie Irving has organized a call with players for Friday night to discuss their positions regarding the season’s restart, ... [ and ] ... is of the position that players should consider not playing in light of the uproar over racial injustice and the unknowns of COVID-19.

[NWR_insanolord]

The NHL, which is a league comprised predominantly of not black men, is doing something very similar, so I don't think the optics are as bad as they're making them out to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm very in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement and what they're fighting for, but drawing a line between that and this is pretty tenuous.

[nickmitch]

The NHL doing the same is a pretty good argument.  NASCAR is also having races, to my understanding, without fans.  But the NBA's decision is coming in the middle of the current movement, and a lot of NBA players, having been vocal in the past, are going to feel odd about decided to go play basketball during this time.  Further, the NBA has a bit more visibility than NHL and NASCAR, at least in certain communities.  So, it may not be the messaging as a whole, but it could mean a lot to the athletes' core fans.

[BlackNMild2k1]

They don't want to draw away the focus and attention of the BLM/Police Reform movement by distracting the masses with America's New Favorite pasttime - Basketball.

Instead of being organized out in the streets demanding change, the masses will be huddled back around TV's watching NBA games.
Instead of visible and vocal players using their platform to help organize and lead, they will be sequestered away training for and playing basketball for the next 2 months.

This is a very important time for this movement, as actual things are already in motion that will hopefully make real and lasting change. We do not want to change the subject or provide distractions from the task at hand. We all want our NBA back, but considering the league is 85% black, I'm sure this issue is far more important to the majority of players, considering they still got plenty of money to ride it out till next season starts. I know there were a few teams that were championship hopeful, and they may want their shot at the top, but I'm sure they would never vocalize that desire of the current issues in the streets and the desire world wide for change.

and even thought they plan to isolate and test everyone, it must be noted that the virus is on the rise in all the early open states such as FL, as they never properly closed down to begin with, and nationwide testing efforts never actually happened in any organized and mandatory way to properly utilize the shut down SIP period.
I'm sure many of them would rather "stay home" with family and friends, than to risk it all so the league can get it's ratings.

[Adrock]

They don't want to draw away the focus and attention of the BLM/Police Reform movement by distracting the masses with America's New Favorite pasttime - Basketball.

They can do both. Colin Kaepernick peacefully protested by kneeling during the national anthem. The Heat came out with their hoods up after the murder of Trayvon Martin. The Lakers wore "I can't breathe" shirts after the murder of Eric Garner. The players can use the platform of nationally televised games to keep the protests in social consciousness. And anger Fox News and its viewers so you know, win-win.

I miss basketball, but it isn't that important to me. For the protests and call for reform, I think reopening will actually help the cause. However, for the health of the players, I'm more worried about the league playing in Florida. Did it have to be Florida?

I'm sure many of them would rather "stay home" with family and friends, than to risk it all so the league can get it's ratings.

At the same time, the players don't get paid if they don't play. Sure, superstar players like will be fine financially. It's dicier for role players on minimum deals.

[BlackNMild2k1]

There wasn't a world wide protest going on when all those other incidents went on.

If people are sitting at home watching NBA games, they aren't out in the streets protesting.
The cause has a momentum that a lot of players do not want to impede with drawing focus away by bringing basketball back right now.

This time it's different, and actual change is happening. We've taken a lot of steps backwards over the last few years, but this is on giant step forward that is long over due.
I love watching NBA recently as well, but if we can all keep this focus for as long as necessary, I will be ok w/o this season finishing. And I'm sure a majority of league will be on that same line of thought.

[nickmitch]

I miss basketball, but it isn't that important to me. For the protests and call for reform, I think reopening will actually help the cause. However, for the health of the players, I'm more worried about the league playing in Florida. Did it have to be Florida?

I think it did have to be Florida.  They're the most lax state with COVID regulations and explicitly allowed televised sports as an exception.  It's the same thing that made WWE "essential".

[NWR_insanolord]

Other states would have allowed it. The NHL is using two hub cities for their playoffs and it doesn't look like either one is going to be in Florida. They're playing in Florida because Disney/ESPN wanted them there, and because they have the facilities necessary to hold that many teams.

[broodwars]

Other states would have allowed it. The NHL is using two hub cities for their playoffs and it doesn't look like either one is going to be in Florida. They're playing in Florida because Disney/ESPN wanted them there, and because they have the facilities necessary to hold that many teams.

To our credit, we've also managed the viral situation better than most of the states out there, and we didn't have to fully shut down to do it.

If Disney & Universal feel they can open their theme parks amidst all this, we can handle a crowd-less NBA, especially here in my realm of the state.

[Shaymin]

Other states would have allowed it. The NHL is using two hub cities for their playoffs and it doesn't look like either one is going to be in Florida. They're playing in Florida because Disney/ESPN wanted them there, and because they have the facilities necessary to hold that many teams.

Also the fact that it'd be hellacious to try and maintain ice in Florida in the middle of the summer. Most of the US cities would be bad for this (thinking of Vegas, which was another possibility for both the NHL and NBA).

[NWR_insanolord]

Vegas is all but a lock to be one of the NHL's hub cities, so it's not like that would stop them.

[Ian Sane]

We're at the point now where the NHL and NBA seasons would be wrapping up if they continued on schedule.  I was very much in favour of continuing the season if the delay was a month or two but now we're at the point where there is no way to resume things without eating into the next season.  MLB hasn't started yet and doesn't look like it will this year.  The NHL and NBA have plans but the NBA players are expressing concerns and none of these plans have been given start dates yet.  At this point I think they should just cancel the season and hope that by the fall, or maybe winter if need be, they can start the next season in a semi-normal manner.

If they resume the current season then it will affect the next season and depending on that timing it may even affect the season after that if things get shifted and the off-season is shorter.  The ripple effect is going to less if they just cut their losses and cancel the current season.

[BlackNMild2k1]

NBA needs to back out.... Unless all involved are 100% locked down on Disney campus. Fully self sufficient. FL on the way towards being the next NY now.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-20/florida-covid-19-cases-rise-by-4-049-the-most-during-pandemic

https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1274382237346205696?s=20

It's not worth the risk. And more important things are going on.

[BlackNMild2k1]

It looks like the NBA Disney Bubble thing is still happening....

Toronto Raptors are apparently on their way to FL to begin the testing quarantine process.

But Disney also announced that all their "Cast Members" who are not residing on Campus, will not have to adhere to strict Bubble testing and quarantine requirements.

[Ian Sane]

NBA needs to back out.... Unless all involved are 100% locked down on Disney campus. Fully self sufficient. FL on the way towards bring the next NY now.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-20/florida-covid-19-cases-rise-by-4-049-the-most-during-pandemic

https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1274382237346205696?s=20

It's not worth the risk. And more important things are going on.

Don't even need to look at the Florida numbers.  The NHL is dipping their toes in the pool first.  The opened training camp on June 8, two weeks ago so this the typical turnaround time for diagnosing the virus, and 11 or their 200 players have tested positive.  If they already have a 5% infection rate before the first game has resumed why wouldn't the NBA assume similar results?

[BlackNMild2k1]

With the cast members freely coming and going, is the bubble really maintained? And if the NHL is already failing in the "bubble", it's only reasonable to assume the NBA may have similar results.

There's also some reports of the long term effects that some that have already recovered are still suffering from. I'd hate to see some of our best compromised to salvage a season that's already lost, just because LeBron doesn't want to waste one of his last active years where he has a good shot at the title. Legacy be damned.

[NWR_insanolord]

The NHL isn’t in the bubble yet, right now they’re at the individual team facilities getting ready for that. It seems like some of the positive tests there are guys who showed up for training camp, got tested when they got there as part of the protocol, and tested positive without realizing they had it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Woj reports:
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1276530837018882048?s=21

16 of the 302 players tested have tested positive for COVID-19

Can we start a poll..... 2 parter.

1) Who think the NBA will continue this year despite everything happening in Florida?

2) Regardless of your answer to the above question, who wants it to restart anyway?