Its been three months since the NBA came to a screeching halt due to the novel coronavirus that is still sweeping the nation. Following this short hiatus, the NBA released its remaining schedule after an official agreement with the National Basketball Players Association to restart the season in Orlando at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The 22 teams, including the Washington Wizards, participating in the season restart will play eight seeding games.
#Wizards full schedule in Orlando. #repthedistrict pic.twitter.com/oX2GxQ0au3
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The Wizards will begin its eight games on July 31, with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns at 4:00 p.m. This marks the second time the two teams will face each other after Washington won the initial meeting 140-132 on November 27th in Phoenix.
Washington’s remaining schedule consists of five Eastern Conference opponents (Brooklyn, Indiana, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Boston) and two Western Conference teams (Oklahoma City and New Orleans). The Wizards have played at least one game against all their upcoming opponents this season other than the New Orleans Pelicans. The team will close out the regular season against the Boston Celtics on August 13.
“We are all looking forward to reuniting as a team and having the opportunity to represent our DC Family in Orlando as we resume the regular season,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “As exciting as it will be to see our players competing on the court again, we are equally eager to be able to use this platform to continue the amazing and inspiring work that our players and organization have done in addressing issues of social injustice and providing relief during the pandemic.”
At the suspension of the NBA season on March 12th, the Wizards record stood at 24-40, which left them as the ninth-seed in the Eastern Conference and 5.5 games behind the Orlando Magic for the final playoff spot. Under the format for the resumption of play, the ninth seed in the conference can force a potential two-game playoff with the eighth seed (the ninth seed must defeat the eighth seed twice, while the eighth must only win once) if the ninth seed finishes within four games of the eighth seed in the final standings.
The Wizards will have to win most of their games in Orlando to make a playoff push. However, this is essentially a new season so anything can happen.