NBA Rumors: Spurs Could Be Part of Play-in Tournament for Playoffs at Disney World
With recent reports that the NBA is planning to finish out the 2019 season at Disney World by hosting the playoffs there, it looked like only the top 16 teams might participate. Based on that, the San Antonio Spurs wouldn’t be participants. However, as details are still in discussion, there are new NBA rumors suggesting the Spurs could be one of four teams from the Western Conference involved in a special play-in tournament.
NBA Rumors Suggest Spurs, Three Other Teams in Play-in-Tournament
The latest NBA rumors are bringing speculation that more than just 16 teams will be involved in the league’s plan for Orlando. That could bode well for the San Antonio Spurs who were four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies (32-33) for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. They’d have a chance to get into the playoffs through a special tournament.
Based on ESPN’s recent report, plans to resume the NBA season are progressing, but it appears that all of the teams in the league won’t be involved. Certain teams are nowhere near a playoff spot. However, other teams are, including the Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Portland Trail Blazers.
Based on the latest details, the NBA is considering a “playoffs-plus” concept with 20 to 24 teams involved. There would possibly be more Western Conference teams involved than Eastern Conference teams, with the 27-36 San Antonio Spurs among the “playoff bubble” teams mentioned.
This potential plan would give fans something extra special to watch and would involve more of the league’s stars as they compete for a postseason spot. Not only would it mean Gregg Popovich and the Spurs would get some more TV exposure, but also emerging young rookie star Zion Williamson.
Grizzlies Had Toughest Remaining Schedule
Despite holding onto that No. 8 seed, the Memphis Grizzlies were just 3.5 games ahead of the next group of teams. They also had the toughest schedule of all of the aforementioned teams, which could have made for an interesting situation heading towards the playoffs.
At 32-33, Memphis had 17 games to go on their regular-season schedule. Among the teams they had on their slate were playoff contenders such as Utah, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Denver, and Toronto twice.
In addition, they had three of the teams mentioned for the play-in tournament on the schedule with a matchup at the San Antonio Spurs originally scheduled for Mar. 16.
They also had two games scheduled against the Trail Blazers with one set for Mar. 12 and the other for Apr. 5, as well as a back-to-back against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans (Mar. 21, Mar. 24).
The conversations will continue into the weekend and probably into next week. Meanwhile, it appears Rudy Gay is among the Spurs players keeping up with his fitness in anticipation of the possible games to come at Disney World Resort this July.