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When the NBA suspended their season indefinitely after All-Star Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 12th, the rest of America's Big Four leagues followed suit as the world woke up to the seriousness of the pandemic.
In the intervening period, teams across the NBA have had the chance to cool their heels, rest and recuperate. When the NBA Players Association and the league office finally decided to resume play in the Disney World bubble, it renewed the championship chance for quite a few players to win a championship - some more than the others.
In this article, we aim to list the 5 teams that have benefited the most from the enforced NBA hiatus
Toronto Raptors
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Currently seeded second in the NBA Eastern Conference with a record of 46-18, the Raptors have managed to successfully avoid any player getting infected with the virus thus far. All Stars Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam were having incredible seasons with the team before it was suspended and will return to their NBA championship defense replenished and refuelled.
In addition, their supporting cast consists of veterans like Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell, who've all had really good comeback seasons to the point that the Raptors were on track to finish the season with the same record as they had when Kawhi was leading them to second place in the NBA's regular season standings in 2018-19.
As things stand, the Raptors are due to face the severely injury-depleted Brooklyn Nets in the first round of playoffs, and will be expected to make light work of the task ahead of them. They match up quite well with the Celtics given their defense and size and will be a tough nut to crack for the Bucks as well.
New Orleans Pelicans
Although the NBA's pre-comeback testing has revealed three Pelicans as having tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus, they will still be counting their lucky stars. This is because the NBA has given the go-ahead to the idea of a play-in tournament for the 8th seed if the #9 seed in the Conference is within a 4 game deficit by record behind the #8 seed by the end of the remaining 8 games that each team in the bubble is required to play.
The Pelicans have the tools to make it a real tight fight if push comes to shove. In addition to the #1 pick of the 2019 NBA draft Zion Williamson, who's been having a sensational start to his career, they have All Star Brandon Ingram on their squad. Knockdown shooter JJ Redick has not missed the playoffs in 13 completed seasons, and he will most definitely not be looking to miss out on his 14th try. Lonzo Ball and Joe Hart bring defensive solidity and some more perimeter shooting to the table, while Derrick Favors fits the profile of a modern NBA center reasonably well.
If they can get their act together, the Pelicans have a rather kind run of games in which they can improve their record - their only game against a top seed is against the Clippers, who may decide to carry out some load management for their top stars.
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Philadelphia 76ers
Across the NBA, the 76ers can lay claim to having the best starting five. In addition to a two-way juggernaut Joel Embiid, they have DPOY candidate Ben Simmons in the lineup, while Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris are some of the most talented swingmen across the league (Harris can also play as a small-ball power forward given the chance). To top it off, the 76ers have Al Horford in their ranks - a do-it-all big man who is as multi-talented in his position as any in the NBA currently.
While they were blighted by the coronavirus threat during the initial days of the outbreak, they can put those days behind them given that it's been over 10 weeks since they announced that 3 members of their organization had tested positive.
The single biggest criticism of Joel Embiid in the past 4 seasons has been his conditioning, and this enforced break has given him the chance to work himself back into preseason shape, raring to grind in the post and dominate their paint as an interior defender. A combination of Embiid and Horford may be the best recipe for any team to keep the impending threat of Giannis in check, should the two teams clash in the NBA's bubble playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks may be leading the NBA standings right now, but they might indeed be thankful to the intervention of the coronavirus. They started the season off as the third-oldest squad in the league with an average age of 28.7, and the likes of Brook Lopez, George Hill, Robin Lopez, Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver will probably be thankful for the truncated version of the season given they're all significantly older than 30 with decades of NBA experience under their belt and tons of mileage.
Reigning MVP and overwhelming favorite to become a back-to-back winner of the award, Giannis Antetokounmpo's playing style is akin to that of a wrecking ball, and requires him to undergo a lot of physical punishment. There's no doubt that the enforced rest period will have allowed him to work on his already hulk like frame and might allow him to wear down opposition defenses even better, come playoff time.
Los Angeles Clippers
While the Clippers were hit with the setback of Landry Shamet succumbing to the travails of the coronavirus at the start of July, the second-year shooting guard should be fit and raring to go by the time the Clippers suit up to take on the crosstown rivals LA Lakers on the 30th of July.
They will, however, be thankful for the NBA shutdown as a means of load management for franchise superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, both of whom battled through injuries in the NBA playoffs last year. They will be looking to cement their second seed and avoid coming up against the Houston Rockets, who are currently sixth in the standings and represent a potential banana skin to both Los Angeles teams in the playoffs.
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