The NBA board of governors have unanimously voted to resume the 2019-20 season on July 31st (August 1st in Manila) at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The teams will include the 16 squads who currently hold a playoff spot and six other that are still in the hunt.

The NBA's Board of Governors have approved the 22-team format to resume 2019-20 season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 4, 2020

Below is the NBA’s likely calendar for the remainder of 2020, which also details the tentative start of the 2020-21 season:

Sources: Additional dates NBA informed on Board of Governors call:
– June 15, players located internationally return to market
– June 21, all players report
– June 22, coronavirus testing begins https://t.co/kFZajb3Ioz

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 4, 2020

Here’s a list of the 22 invited teams – 13 are from the West and nine are from the East. They will each play eight games to finish the regular season:

The * denotes the in-the-hunt teams who are currently out of the playoff picture but still have a chance. Each team is at least six games within the eighth seed in their conference.

The top 6 of the East and top 7 of the West have clinched a playoff spot, and the eight games will only affect their seedings for the postseason.

The play-in tournament

After the eight games are played, and the #8 and #9 seeds are at least within four games of each other, there will be a play-in tournament. The higher seed will have the advantage by only needing one win to advance and secure the playoff spot, while the lower seed needs two wins. In a simpler term, it’s basically the usual “twice-to-beat” advantage in the PBA playoffs.

Once all the seeds are locked, the playoffs will then proceed with the standard, per conference seeding – eight from each side, with the 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5 match-ups being applied.

Who’s the most dangerous in-the-hunt team?

Western Conference

I will be excluding the Grizzlies (32-33) since they have a relatively comfortable win advantage among the five bubble teams in the West. This is only between the five West teams who are gunning to knock Memphis out of their spot.

The Blazers (29-37) have the best mixture of talent and playoff experience. However, they seem to be the least pleased in the current format. For one, their All-Star guard, Damian Lillard, said last week that he’ll only play if they have a legitimate chance, which is kind of iffy in the approved scenario considering they are 3.5 games behind the Grizzlies. Secondly, they are the lone team who voted against the format, which says a lot.

Sources: Portland was the lone team that voted against the 22-team format. https://t.co/WxxADXEkNb

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 4, 2020

The season-long inconsistency of the Kings (28-36) and Suns (26-39) make them a tough sell, which leaves me the contrasting styles of the Spurs (27-36) and Pelicans (28-36). One on side, you have the Spurs who play old school ball and boast the Hall-of-Fame coaching of Gregg Popovich, and on the other, you have the younger, more athletic, and offensively-driven Pels, who are explosive in transition and have an aggressive outside game.

Eastern Conference

The East appears to be an open-and-shut case. Among the bottom three, I see the Nets (30-34) and Magic (30-35) as the only teams to possibly interchange spots. The Wizards (24-40) will be going on an insane chase as they need to win every game and one of the other two to keep losing.

While Washington attacks with relentless offense (115.3 PPG, 6th in the league and 2nd in the East), the horrid, 29th-ranked defense will likely prove as the more influential factor.