The entire sports world has been placed on hold amid the coronavirus outbreak, but former NBA Matt Barnes believes there will be at least one silver lining for basketball fans when games resume.
While the NBA, MLB, NHL or any other sports schedule is not nearly the most important thing in the United States or the world at the moment, Barnes mentioned on ESPN’s “First Take” Thursday that he envisions the NBA having its best ever postseason when play resumes. His rationale for that is quite simple.
“If there’s any kind of silver lining, and it’s hard to address it now, but if you give these guys a break going into the playoffs and you build the anticipation of the NBA coming back, you’re giving the best players in the world an extra two, three, four weeks off,” Barnes said. “The energy in the playoffs is going to be off the charts. It’s going to be the best playoffs we’ve seen because everyone is fully rested and fully healthy.”
As Barnes said, that is a difficult topic to address now. However, he has a point. Fans are going to be desperate for some sense of normalcy, and the NBA will be smack dab in the middle of its stretch run when the coronavirus outbreak is finally under control. Players will also feel a lot fresher at a time when their bodies are typically run down.
In the meantime, of course, there are much bigger concerns for the league. Fortunately, star players are already stepping up to do what they can to improve a difficult situation.
