NBA Rumors: Finishing 2020 Regular Season Hasn't Been Ruled Out

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently mentioned the NBA hasn't quite made the decision to skip straight to playoffs if and when the league returns to action.

For over two months, the Philadelphia 76ers and the 29 other NBA organizations have been patiently waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to clear up. While it doesn't seem the coronavirus will entirely disappear anytime soon, many states in the U.S. are beginning to slowly open up once again after being shut down.

And because of that, the NBA is looking to get back into action potentially. At this point, a good handful of teams are opening up their practice facilities so players can partake in voluntary individual workouts. While that doesn't guarantee the NBA will make a comeback this year after being suspended in early March -- it is a step in the right direction.

Throughout the entire suspension, those behind the scenes have changed their stance on the potential resumption of the 2019-2020 NBA season several times. One day, many believed the league was angling towards cancellation. Then another day, they're discussing further steps to making the idea of a return become a reality.

Lately, it's been a whole lot of the latter. And soon enough, we'll have a decision. What we know by now is that if the NBA returns, all games are likely to be played in one or two cities without any fans in attendance. What we don't know, however, is whether the league will try to wrap up the regular season, or skip straight to playoffs.

Firing up the playoffs right away seems like the logical choice, but Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently revealed the league could play some, but not all remaining regular-season games to get back into the swing of things. 

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"I think we would play some games to get it going again and create the interest," Fertitta told U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, per the Washington Post. "Then [the NBA would] go right into the playoffs. I think it would be great for America. We're all missing sports. Everyone wants to see these great NBA teams."

Playing a few games before skipping to the postseason makes a ton of sense, if possible. Not only does the Western Conference have a tight playoff race for the eighth seed, but teams could use a few less meaningful matches before heading into an intense do-or-die situation that is the postseason. Soon enough, it'll all be decided. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_