In a typical NBA season, the start date of the 2020 NBA Finals is set before training camps ever open.
Nothing about 2020 is typical, including the NBA’s bubble restart in Orlando. While we had known the league had a Finals start date of Sept. 30, and we knew games would be roughly every other day, there were not a lot of details.
At least not until the league sent a memo to teams on Thursday detailing the 2020 NBA Finals schedule, a memo obtained by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
NBA has informed teams of Finals dates, subject to move up:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 13, 2020
Game 1: Sept. 30
G2: Oct. 2
G3: Oct. 4
G4: Oct. 6
G5: Oct. 9
G6: Oct. 11
G7: Oct. 13
First round begins Monday; each series played every other day. Later rounds can be moved up based on outcomes.
While times have not been announced, expect tip-off at 8 or 9 Eastern.
The 2020 NBA Finals schedule has games every other day, except for the two-day gap between Game 4 (Tuesday, Oct. 6) and Game 5 (Friday, Oct. 9).
There is a theory some subscribe to around the league that playoff series will be shorter this year because the weaker team will not have the home crowd to pump them up to steal games. When a team gets down, they will be more likely to stay down. If that proves true — and good luck to you predicting how these Finals will actually go — then the league might move up the Finals date. But don’t be on it, moving the Finals would take coordination with television partner ABC and more, and more than likely the games stay where they are.
The road to the finals, the NBA playoffs, start next Monday Seven of the eight series are set, with the final spot in the West still up for grabs and headed to a play-in series (the teams in that series will be determined Thursday, with the games Saturday (Aug. 15) and, if necessary, Sunday.
