NBA to release schedule for restart’s ‘seeding games’ on Sportsnet

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) talks with guard Patrick McCaw (22) as forward Pascal Siakam (43) and centre Marc Gasol (33) look on during the second half of their game against the Brooklyn Nets in Toronto, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019. (Cole Burston/CP)

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have finalized plans for the league’s restart on July 30, meaning next on the to-do list is a schedule release.

That’s happening on Friday night, and basketball fans can catch it live on Sportsnet.

Tune in to Sportsnet at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT as the NBA unveils the schedule for the restart’s 88 “seeding games” — eight games for each of the 22 teams participating at the Disney World campus near Orlando.

The NBA plans to return to action on July 30 after it was forced to suspend the 2019-20 campaign on March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the format for the restart, the 22 participating teams will be the eight teams in each conference with the highest current winning percentages and the six teams that are currently within six games of the eighth seed in either conference.

After the seeding games conclude, the seven teams in each conference with the highest combined winning percentages across regular-season games and seeding games will be the first through seventh seeds for the playoffs for that conference.

If the team with the eighth-best combined winning percentage in a conference is more than four games ahead of the team with the ninth-best combined winning percentage in the same conference, then the team with the eighth-best winning percentage would become the final playoff team in each conference. If the ninth-ranked team trails by four games or less, a play-in tournament would determine the final seed.

— With files from Associated Press

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