During lead-up to the season restart in the National Basketball Association (NBA) bubble in Orlando at the end of July 2020, a few team executives and players expressed scepticism about the environment and the potential effectiveness of the plan.

The league, to their credit, has pulled off a massive undertaking (under the current conditions) with very few hiccups.

They recently announced that, of the 342 players tested for COVID-19 on its campus since testing results were last announced on August 5, zero came back positive.

The next big test of the plans will come at the end of August when family members and close friends of players and officials will be allowed inside the bubble. The challenge of keeping everyone safe will be magnified exponentially.

The action inside the bubble, continues to be riveting.

The playo-ffs began on Monday [August 17] following the first-ever (and only) play-in game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday [August 15] where the Blazers bettered their opponents 126-122 to book the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

The seeding games leading up to the play-offs provided fans with a “mini-NBA season” of sorts and included some outstanding performances that are worthy of mention. And, if there were awards for this mini-season, Blazers’ guard Damian Lillard would be the most valuable player (MVP), the Phoenix Suns would have the best record in the league and Ja Morant would be rookie of the year (he may actually receive this award).

Lilliard has been incredible in the bubble and has willed his Portland team into the play-offs. He ended the regular season having shot 40.1 per cent from 3-point range on 10.1 3-point attempts per game, becoming just the second player in league history to post that kind of efficiency – Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, is the other, and he has done it twice (narrowly missing out on a third).

Lillard averaged 37.6 points and 9.6 assists during the seeding games and that contributed significantly to Portland’s 6–2 record. In the past three games (all must-wins) he provided an insane 154 combined points.

This included a career-high-tying 61 points against the Dallas Mavericks during the penultimate seeding game, making it his third game this season, with 60 points or more, placing him in the elite company of Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to put together three games or more with 60 points or more in one season.

The Portland Trail Blazers entered the bubble with a 10 per cent chance to qualify for the play-offs. Now, having dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies in the historic play-in game and defeated the JustBet title favourite Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 on Tuesday, there’s the possibility Portland could push Los Angeles to the brink in this series.

Despite LeBron James’s historic outing in his postseason debut with the Lakers, putting up 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists, marking his 24th career triple-double in the postseason and the most assists he’s had in a play-off game.

Despite LeBron being the first player in league history with a 20-point, 15-rebound and 15 assist triple-double in the play-offs, his performance was silenced by the Portland win and Lillard game-high 34 points (with six 3-pointers).

Lillard has been named to five all-star teams in his career, but this summer, he’s stepped up a notch.

The Phoenix Suns finished their seeding schedule with the only perfect (8-0) record after blasting the Dallas Mavericks, 128-102, in their final game. However, that wasn’t enough to continue their magical run in the Orlando bubble.

The Suns needed Memphis or Portland to lose their final games and neither did. They finished with the same record as the Grizzlies, who went 2-6 in the bubble, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker, 3-1.

The Suns posted their longest winning streak since the 2009-10 season when they last made the play-offs but lost out on the opportunity to break that decade-long drought. However, for the first in a long time, the Suns have some semblance of confidence and enthusiasm heading into next season – December can’t come too soon.

Ja Morant may be in a ding-dong battle with Zion Williamson for Rookie of the Year honours this season, but he is easily the most recognisable player on the Grizzlies roster. His average 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists for the season doesn’t truly reflect his contribution to the team as he’s undoubtedly the engine that makes them run.

In the pivotal play-in games against Portland last Saturday, he finished with a career high scoring (35 points), while nearing a double-double (8 assists). He did commit eight turnovers and was guilty of some sloppy play down the stretch that contributed to Memphis losing a late lead but, with a fractured right thumb throughout the last four games of the season, a few rookie mistakes can be forgiven.

Morant has put Memphis on the right track in terms of competitiveness and, provided with the right support, the next few years should be a treat for Grizzlies fans.

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21-Aug-2020 ODDS

Time Game HOME AWAY

13:30 Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors (Game 3) TBA TBA

16:00 Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets (Game 3) TBA TBA

18:30 Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics (Game 3) TBA TBA

21:00 Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers (Game 3) TBA TBA

22-Aug-2020

Time Game

13:00 Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks (Game 3) TBA TBA

15:30 Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers (Game 3) TBA TBA

18:00 OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets (Game 3) TBA TBA

20:30 Portland Trail Blazers vs LA Lakers (Game 3) TBA TBA

23-Aug-2020

Time Game

13:00 Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics (Game 4) TBA TBA

15:30 Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers (Game 4) TBA TBA

18:30 Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors (Game 4) TBA TBA

21:00 Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets (Game 4) TBA TBA

24-Aug-2020

Time Game

13:30 Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks (Game 4) TBA TBA

16:00 OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets (Game 4) TBA TBA

18:30 Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers (Game 4) TBA TBA

21:00 Portland Trail Blazers vs LA Lakers (Game 4) TBA TBA