The NBA is back! Well, sort of ... in seven weeks. There are a lot of details still to be hammered out, namely regarding safety protocols to curtail the potential spread of COVID-19, but both the Board of Governors and NBPA agreed to the terms laid out by commissioner Adam Silver for a 22-team return to play at Disney World in Orlando and resume the 2019-20 season on July 31.
The big, unanswerable question on everyone's mind: How will the four-plus-month layoff and the unique bubble conditions in Orlando affect players and teams? Nobody knows the answer, but it's clear that teams like the 76ers, Trail Blazers and Grizzlies are in a better spot due to players returning from injury.
Since there are so many variables, we leaned on stardom for our first set of Power Rankings since March, with the Bucks, Lakers and Clippers topping the list. These may not change much before July 31 barring a significant injury of illness, but once actual games begin, all bets are off.
This format has the potential to be a lot of fun -- fingers crossed that things go according to plan, and we eventually crown a 2020 NBA champion.
Biggest Movers
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The hiatus may have come at the perfect time for the Bucks, who were riding a three-game losing streak when the season came to a halt with Giannis Antetokounmpo missing the final two games with a joint capsule sprain in his left knee. Giannis is obviously essential to everything the Bucks do on both ends of the court, so getting him back to 100 percent is vital for their championship aspirations. The biggest questions are to what extent, if any, the long break will disrupt the rhythm of the league's best team and how the loss of home-court advantage will affect them. | 1 | 53-12 |
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Still a slight favorite to win the title following the hiatus, the Lakers are in a good position to pick up where they left off given their elite superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus a veteran group of role players. This team has developed great chemistry over the season, which should serve them well in a quarantined environment for multiple months. James has said that the layoff isn't a benefit for him physically, but he and Davis being fresh and cleared of nagging injuries certainly bodes well for the Lakers' title hopes. | 1 | 49-14 |
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The Clippers were finally healthy and clicking at the time of the hiatus, having gone 7-2 with the league's best net rating (11.5) after the All-Star break. On one hand they probably hate to see the momentum stalled, but on the other Doc Rivers will get a second training camp to evaluate rotations with perhaps the deepest roster in the NBA. The Clippers have been dominant with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the floor together (plus-11.6 net rating in 760 minutes), so they remain right there with the Lakers and Bucks as favorites to win the NBA title. | -- | 44-20 |
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The doubt is creeping in once again, and the Raptors surely relish it. Some feel Toronto caught lightning in a bottle this season and the disruption in momentum could bring them back down to earth. Don't count on it. In fact, they may be even stronger with a rested, healthy roster heading into Orlando. The defending champs have succeeded all season despite injuries taking various players out of the lineup, so it will be fun to see them at full strength. Fun for us -- not so much for their opponents. | -- | 46-18 |
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Boston could never seem to get all of its best players on the court at the same time, and the five-month layoff will likely remedy that. Kemba Walker was dealing with a chronic knee injury before the hiatus, so he should come into Orlando relatively fresh to go with the rest of the Celtics' core five: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart. Tatum was playing outstanding basketball before the break, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep that up when the season resumes. If he can, Boston is a real threat to come out of the East. | 3 | 43-21 |
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Despite Nuggets executive vice president Tim Connelly's insistence that Nikola Jokic is "beach ready" with six-pack abs, there are concerns over how the All-NBA center will look upon his return. He had played himself into shape and was performing as well as anyone in basketball before the hiatus, and Denver will need him to regain that form if it is going to get through the Western Conference gauntlet. | 4 | 43-22 |
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Miami has a lot to play for during the eight seeding games, as possibly overtaking the Celtics for the No. 3 spot (currently 2.5 games back) would allow the Heat to avoid the Bucks in a potential second-round matchup. They'll also get a boost with a healthy Tyler Herro, who had just returned from a five-week absence the night the NBA shut down, and Meyers Leonard, who has been sidelined since early February with an ankle injury. This team is well-suited for the playoffs with a deep, versatile roster and a leader with postseason experience in Jimmy Butler. | 2 | 41-24 |
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Perhaps the NBA's most surprising team this season, the Thunder will be a formidable opponent for whichever team they face in the first round and beyond. OKC has an absurd league-leading plus-30.2 net rating in clutch situations this season (games within five points with five minutes remaining), largely due to Chris Paul's average of 3.5 points on 54 percent shooting during that time. They may also get Andre Roberson back in Orlando to boost a relatively weak wing rotation. Even if Roberson, who last played in an NBA game in January of 2018, can only give them a few minutes of guarding the opposing team's perimeter stud, it will still be a nice bonus for Oklahoma City. | 1 | 40-24 |
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Opponents seemed to have been starting to figure out Houston's small-ball approach before the hiatus, so the break may have come at a good time for the Rockets. Their success in the playoffs will have a lot to do with matchups, namely avoiding teams with dominant big men like the Lakers and Nuggets as long as possible. Russell Westbrook was on a roll before the break and James Harden is James Harden, so the Rockets have the firepower to beat any team in a playoff series if their shooters get hot for a week or two. | 2 | 40-24 |
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A few months ago the 76ers faced the prospect of beginning the playoffs without one of their two All-Stars, as Ben Simmons dealt with a chronic back injury. Now it looks like they'll have both Simmons and Joel Embiid at full strength when teams report to Orlando. Philadelphia won't have to worry about its dismal road record (10-24) at Disney World, but the 76ers also won't have their sterling home-court advantage (29-2), so they're truly one of the more perplexing teams. They haven't seemed to put things entirely together all season long, but given their talent and the way they match up with Milwaukee, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if they end up in the NBA Finals. Then again, a first-round exit also wouldn't be shocking. What a strange team. | 3 | 39-26 |
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Dallas is in the No. 7 spot out West, but has only one fewer win than the No. 4-seeded Jazz. Much like Jokic, the questions surrounding the condition of Luka Doncic abound, particularly since he returned to his native Slovenia during the hiatus. Dallas won't get injury relief from the break, as Jalen Brunson and Dwight Powell will both likely be out until next season following surgery. But with Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, Dallas would be no ordinary No. 7 seed if that's where it ends up. | 1 | 40-27 |
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Off-court drama between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert aside, the Jazz suffered perhaps the biggest blow of any contender during the hiatus when Bojan Bogdanovic had season-ending surgery on his shooting wrist, which had been bothering him for months. The Jazz were a plus-8.5 in offensive rating with Bogdanovic on the court, the highest margin of any Utah player, and was their best high-volume 3-point shooter (41 percent on 7.3 attempts per game). Georges Niang may replace him in the starting lineup, but it will be up to Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles to pick up the scoring slack, while even more responsibility shifts back to Mitchell. | 6 | 41-23 |
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The hiatus is a good thing for players dealing with injuries, but it could have the opposite effect for Victor Oladipo. The Pacers' star was just making his way back from a year-long knee injury, and had his best game (27 points, seven rebounds in 28 minutes) the night before the league shut down. If the Pacers are going to make real noise in the playoffs, they're going to need Oladipo in top form, and the break may have unfortunately interrupted the progress and confidence he was building. | 4 | 39-26 |
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The Grizzlies have been given every chance to keep their playoff position, as any challenger will have to beat them twice in a row to take their spot (barring disaster in the eight seeding games). They should get a major frontcourt injection with the return of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke, who had both been sidelined for multiple games at the time of the hiatus, along with the likely Memphis debut of Justise Winslow, who said he is "pain-free and symptom-free" following a nagging back injury. Their chances of upsetting the Lakers in the first round would be slim, but there are worse things than watching Ja Morant and this young group in their first playoff test. | -- | 32-33 |
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The Pelicans were on the fast track to catch the Grizzlies for the No. 8 spot before the hiatus, with one of the softer schedules in the league on the horizon and Memphis having one of the most difficult. That gets adjusted somewhat now that the easier teams on the schedule won't be in Orlando. That being said, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball and Co. should have a great shot at getting into the playoffs, creating a dream LeBron vs. Zion scenario for the NBA in the first round. They've got a lot of work to do before they get there, though. | -- | 28-36 |
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The Blazers are ecstatic about getting invited to Orlando for a chance to make the playoffs (though they would have preferred a 20-team field), and they have a pretty good chance to do it with the looming return of big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins. They should help limit the demands on Hassan Whiteside and lead to a much improved Portland defense, with a fully rested Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum ready to do what it takes to get back to the postseason. | 3 | 29-37 |
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The Kings were the hottest of the four teams contending for the No. 8 spot out West at the time of the hiatus, having won seven of their last 10. They seemed to have found a winning formula with Buddy Hield coming off the bench and Bogdan Bogdanovic starting, and Marvin Bagley III, currently recovering from a foot injury, may be back in the mix at some point. Sacramento played faster after the All-Star break, which seems to fit the personnel, particularly lightning-quick De'Aaron Fox. | 1 | 28-36 |
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It sounds like neither Jonathan Isaac nor Al-Farouq Aminu will be healthy enough to play when the season resumes, which is a shame for the Magic. They will get back Evan Fournier, however, who is essential to Orlando's offensive attack and is having a career year. They'll duke it out with the Nets to determine the seventh and eighth seeds in the East, but they don't possess much upset power. | -- | 30-35 |
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There will be no return of Kevin Durant nor Kyrie Irving (probably), so the Nets will have to battle out their remaining games with Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie leading the charge. Brooklyn had just fired Kenny Atkinson before the hiatus, so it will certainly benefit from a full training camp to further implement whatever changes interim coach Jacque Vaughn would like to make. The Nets are in little danger of losing their playoff spot, but it's hard to see them making much noise in a first-round matchup with the Bucks or Raptors. | 2 | 30-34 |
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The Spurs' 22-season playoff streak is in serious jeopardy, partly because they've played fewer games than the Blazers, Pelicans and Kings. That means they'll need to have a better record than all three over the course of the eight seeding games in order to get the No. 9 spot and earn the right to a play-in series. If we've learned anything over the years it's never to doubt Gregg Popovich or the Spurs, but this is a tall order. | 1 | 27-36 |
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Phoenix has little chance of even making it to the No. 9 spot, let alone No. 8, but it will get to test itself against the league's best for eight games, which could prove helpful when it comes to offseason decision-making. Kelly Oubre should be back from meniscus surgery in some capacity, but this will mainly be about building reps for Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton as the Suns look toward the future. | 1 | 26-39 |
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It's going to take a miracle for the Wizards to overtake the No. 8 seed, but they could plausibly get within four games of the Magic or Nets to force a play-in series. John Wall, who's been out for 18 months, has been all but ruled out for the Orlando games, so it will be up to Bradley Beal to continue to carry a massive offensive burden. | 1 | 24-40 |
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The Hornets' season is over, but they can take solace in the fact that they outperformed expectations and developed three players -- Devonte' Graham, Miles Bridges and PJ Washington -- who could be legitimate franchise cornerstones moving forward. They'll hope for lottery luck and continued growth this offseason, but the rebuild in Charlotte has just commenced. | 1 | 23-42 |
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It was a disappointing season for the Bulls, who finally gave in and revamped the front office after years of speculation. Chicago has talent -- Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Coby White, Wendell Carter Jr. -- but it has yet to find a way to translate it to wins. We'll see if the new brass opts to shuffle the deck this offseason. | 4 | 22-43 |
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The Hawks were really bad this year, just behind Cleveland for the third-worst net rating in the NBA, but there's reason to be hopeful with the development of Trae Young and John Collins, plus the addition of Clint Capela to potentially shore up their defensive woes. They have a promising young crop of wings with Kevin Huerter, De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, and will likely get another high draft pick this offseason. Sooner or later, though, you have to actually start winning games. | 4 | 20-47 |
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D'Angelo Russell averaged nearly 22 points per game after coming over from the Warriors, but shot just 41 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range. He'll obviously benefit from the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns, and the franchise hinges on the duo's success. Now it's time to start putting quality pieces around them. | -- | 19-45 |
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We didn't learn much about the future of the Knicks this season -- we're still not sure how good RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson are, and we don't know whether Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina will be part of the team's plans. After a front office overhaul, the highest priority this offseason is finding a coach, with Tom Thibodeau's name reportedly at the top of the list. | 2 | 21-45 |
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The Cavs would have loved to have gotten a better look at Andre Drummond, but only got eight games out of him after trading for him at the deadline. Given the financial landscape of the league, he'll almost certainly exercise his $29 million option for next season, so the decision wasn't really in Cleveland's hands anyway. Collin Sexton made a huge leap toward the end of the season, so the Cavs will hope he can build off of that while they continue to try to find a trade destination for Kevin Love. | 4 | 19-46 |
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The long, strange trip is finally over, as one of the most bizarre seasons in NBA history comes to an end. The Warriors gained valuable knowledge this year, namely that D'Angelo Russell didn't fit and that Eric Paschall is pretty good, but all eyes immediately shift to next season, when a healthy Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, plus whatever they get out of their high draft pick, should make Golden State a title contender once again. | 2 | 15-50 |
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In terms of NBA futures, it doesn't get much bleaker than the Detroit Pistons. Blake Griffin's monster contract will run through 2022 when he picks up the option, and the most promising young players on the roster are Luke Kennard and Bruce Brown. Christian Wood probably did enough to get the Pistons to make him a good offer this summer (who else are they going to spend money on?), but Detroit may be the leader in the clubhouse to enter next season with the league's lowest win total projection. | -- | 20-46 |
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