Quick Update on the MLB & NBA Seasons

[Udog]

Here is a quick update on the MLB & NBA Seasons.

The MLB Season will begin on July 23 and is scheduled to end on September 27.
The MLB Postseason will begin on September 29.
The World Series is set to begin on October 20.

The NBA Season will resume on July 30 – August 14, 2020 (completion of regular season with "seeding" games)
August 15–16, 2020 (Play-in tournaments, if necessary)
August 17 - September 30, 2020 (NBA Playoffs)
September 30 – October 12, 2020 (NBA Finals)

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NBA Restart - Fast Facts

Seeding Games

Start Date: Thursday, July 30
End Date: Friday, Aug. 14
Total Games: 88
Location: Orlando, Florida
Venues: Wide World of Sports Complex

The NBA will have 22 teams travel to Orlando, Florida and those clubs will each play eight seeding games before the NBA Playoffs are set.

The 22 clubs consist of the 16 teams in current playoff positions, eight from the Eastern and Western Conferences. The remaining six teams are currently six games or fewer behind the eighth seed in each conference.

The new twist that the NBA has added will be a possible play-in tournament for the 8th seed in each conference. If a 9th seeded team is within four games of the 8th seed, then those teams will square off in a head-to-head matchup for the 8th seed.

The 9th seeded team must defeat the 8th seed twice in order to claim the playoff berth while the 8th seed only needs one victory to advance to the NBA Playoffs.

2020 NBA Playoffs

Schedules & Start Dates

Play-In Games: Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16
First Round: Monday, Aug. 17
Conference Semifinals: Monday, Aug. 31
Conference Finals: Tuesday, Sept. 15
NBA Finals: Wednesday, Sept. 30

The NBA announced that the last possible date for Game 7 of the NBA Finals would take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13

Opening Weekend

Betting Odds and Line Movements

On Thursday, July 30, the NBA regular season will resume with a TNT doubleheader that starts at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Utah (-1) vs. New Orleans, Total 222.5
L.A. Clippers (-1.5) vs. L.A. Lakers, Total 220.5

Friday's card on July 31 will feature six games and the action begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with the Magic and Nets and wraps up with a solid battle between the Rockets and Mavericks.

Orlando (-2) vs. Brooklyn, Total 212.5
Memphis vs. Portland (-1), Total 222.5
Phoenix (-3) vs. Washington, Total 231.5
Boston vs. Milwaukee (-5.5), Total 217.5
Sacramento (-3) vs. San Antonio, Total 216.5
Houston (-1.5) vs. Dallas, Total 225.5

The August 1st slate has five games with the Heat and Nuggets meeting in the afternoon slot at 1:00 p.m. ET. Saturday's card will also feature all four teams that played on Thursday.

Miami vs. Denver (-1), Total 212.5
Utah (-1) vs. Oklahoma City, Total 211.5
New Orleans vs. L.A. Clippers (-5), Total 2226.5
Philadelphia (-4) vs. Indiana, Total 210.5
L.A. Lakers (-3.5) vs. Toronto, Total 213.5

Daily Game Breakdown

There will be a total of 88 games played from July 30 through August 14, with as many as seven games scheduled daily.

The earliest tip is set for 12:30 p.m. ET while the latest game will start at 9:00 p.m. ET.

TNT, ESPN and NBATV will be providing national broadcasts daily on select games while the status of other games will likely be shown regionally or on NBA League Pass.

Thursday July 30: 2 Games
Friday July 31: 6 Games
Saturday Aug. 1: 5 Games
Sunday Aug. 2: 6 Games
Monday, Aug. 3: 6 Games
Tuesday, Aug. 4: 6 Games
Wednesday, Aug. 5: 6 Games
Thursday, Aug. 6: 6 Games
Friday, Aug. 7: 6 Games
Saturday, Aug. 8: 5 Games
Sunday, Aug. 9: 7 Games
Monday, Aug. 10: 5 Games
Tuesday, Aug. 11: 7 Games
Wednesday, Aug. 12: 4 Games
Thursday, Aug. 13: 7 Games
Friday, Aug. 14: 4 Games

Eastern Conference

Schedule Analysis

BOSTON: 7/31 Bucks, 8/2 Blazers, 8/4 Heat, 8/5 Nets, 8/7 Raptors, 8/9 Magic, 8/11 Grizzlies, 8/13 Wizards

Facing a three-game deficit in the Atlantic Division, the Celtics benefit from an extremely soft schedule outside of their first game against East-leading Milwaukee. A head-to-head meeting with Toronto gives Boston the chance to realistically finish as the No. 2 seed since it should be favored in no less than six of its eight regular-season games.

BROOKLYN: 7/31 Magic, 8/2 Wizards, 8/4 Bucks, 8/5 Celtics, 8/7 Kings, 8/9 Clippers, 8/11 Magic, 8/13 Blazers

The Nets can take care of the Wizards early, assuring themselves a playoff spot. With a pair of games against Orlando on tap, they’ll be able to dictate holding on to the East’s No. 7 seed too. A back-to-back against the Bucks and Celtics will probably feature a game where Nets coach Jacque Vaughn fields a lineup filled exclusively with reserves.

INDIANA: 8/1 76ers, 8/3 Wizards, 8/4 Magic, 8/6 Suns, 8/8 Lakers, 8/10 Heat, 8/12 Rockets, 8/14 Heat

As detailed by Indianapolis Star beat writer J. Michael on the June 26 VI “Bet and Collect” podcast, the Pacers expect to use a collective approach to dispensing minutes. That may ultimately lead to Indiana winding up with the No. 6 seed but a pair of games against the Heat late in the “seeding” schedule does afford it an opportunity to control its destiny in moving up.

MIAMI: 8/1 Nuggets, 8/3 Raptors, 8/4 Celtics, 8/6 Bucks, 8/8 Suns, 8/10 Pacers, 8/12 Thunder, 8/14 Pacers

An incredibly tough first four games awaits the Heat, which includes three games in four days to open August. Those final games of Indiana will likely dictate where Miami winds up in the 4-6 range, potentially giving them an opportunity to determine its opponent by either rising up or laying down in the final few games.

MILWAUKEE: 7/31 Celtics, 8/2 Rockets, 8/4 Nets, 8/6 Heat, 8/8 Mavs, 8/10 Raptors, 8/11 Wizards, 8/13 Grizzlies

They’ll be able to sew up the East’s top seed pretty quickly, which makes the Bucks a candidate to rest players down the stretch. That Aug. 10 game against Toronto may be fairly meaningless, so with a game against Washington the next day, it wouldn’t be surprising to see most regulars sit. There will likely be value in fading Milwaukee until the postseason arrives.

ORLANDO: 7/31 Nets, 8/2 Kings, 8/4 Pacers, 8/5 Raptors, 8/7 76ers, 8/9 Celtics, 8/11 Nets, 8/13 Pelicans

It remains to be seen whether x-factor Jonathan Isaac commits to playing, but Orlando could make noise in its backyard if he does. With a pair of matchups against Brooklyn in store, the Magic will control its destiny in avoiding the Bucks and the No. 8 seed. That finale against New Orleans will also have plenty of eyes on it since the Pels will be looking to move up to at least the No. 9 series to give itself a shot at making the playoffs.

PHILADELPHIA: 8/1 Pacers, 8/3 Spurs, 8/5 Wizards, 8/7 Magic, 8/9 Blazers, 8/11 Suns , 8/12 Raptors , 8/14 Grizzlies

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were banged up on March 11, so Philadelphia is one of the teams that most benefited from this COVID-19 hiatus. The schedule is their friend too since the 76ers will be favored in all but maybe one of their games. That outlier, against Toronto on the second night of a back-to-back, may present an opportunity to rest players, but there’s no question Philly can move up as high as third with a strong run. It holds a tiebreaker on Boston by virtue of a 3-1 edge in their head-to-head meetings and a perfect run may help that come into play.

TORONTO: 8/1 Lakers, 8/3 Heat, 8/5 Magic, 8/7 Celtics, 8/9 Grizzlies, 8/10 Bucks, 8/12 76ers , 8/14 Nuggets

The Atlantic Division leaders have a tough slate accentuated by the fact they have to face both conference leaders, the heads of the Northwest and Southeast and the teams chasing them in their top-heavy division. The Raptors began their journey earlier than everyone else upon escaping Canada and are adamant about defending their championship despite no longer counting on Kawhi Leonard so this will definitely be an opportunity to pick up additional confidence.

WASHINGTON: 7/31 Suns, 8/2 Nets, 8/3 Pacers, 8/5 76ers, 8/7 Pelicans, 8/9 Thunder, 8/11 Bucks, 8/13 Celtics

The lone team with a winning percentage lower than .400 to be invited into the Orlando bubble is likely to be playing spoiler for most of their ride. With Davis Bertans sitting out and any John Wall/DeMarcus Cousins infusion waiting until December, the 2019-20 season theme of hopping on Bradley Beal’s back should continue with the Wizards likely to be an underdog in all their games.