The most significant takeaway from the NBA restart seeding games has nothing to do with basketball. The league’s successful attempt — so far — to stage a shortened remainder of its regular season and playoffs without having a single player contract COVID-19 while living inside the NBA’s Orlando bubble has demonstrated that with the right resources, planning, and buy-in from athletes, major team sports can play on despite the pandemic.
That’s good news for the entire pro sports ecosystem — from the athletes and team employees, to the TV networks and media entities that can’t survive without live sports content, to the United States’ burgeoning legal sports betting industry.
Unfortunately, for any bettors who hoped the eight-game seeding round might provide some indication of how the playoffs will unfold and where gamblers might be able to find an edge, the first 2½ weeks of the NBA’s return to play might have raised more questions than they answered. The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, top seeds in their respective conferences, each went 3-5 in the bubble, yet neither team appeared to be trying all that hard to win. The third team viewed as a title favorite, the Los Angeles Clippers, went 5-3 but lost to the Lakers in their one game with clear championship implications.