The NBA’s road to getting back in action took a big step this week as reports of a potential return in late July have been released. Although a couple of obstacles are still on the way, optimism is at its highest since March 12th, when the season got suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we now wait for further development, let’s get into some key points about the league’s plans, as well as some storylines heading into the playoffs:

The temporary venue

The COVID-19 virus had permeated across America by mid-March, which stamped a big question mark as to where the season’s temporary venue would be – considering that it must be held under a safe and confined area.

After weeks of back-and-forth and several other rumours, the NBA has reportedly reached an agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Should the talks continue to move forward, the likely location would be at the Disney-owned ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The entire complex spans 220 acres and includes three arenas and hotel accommodations that are sufficient enough for the teams.

Since it involves Disney, particularly one of its major subsidiary, ESPN, all the broadcasting necessities and TV deals will also be in place.

The league-wide testing

With all the danger surrounding the virus’s rapid transmission and deadly effects, the NBA is looking to have all of its players go through a coronavirus testing program.

As you may remember, the indefinite hiatus stemmed from Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19 – teammate Donovan Mitchell was also found to be infected days after. It then continue to snowball as more than a dozen players went on to test positive, including Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and Boston Celtics defensive ace Marcus Smart.

The 1-16 playoff re-seeding

Fans and pundits alike have long proposed this format, which mainly pertains to the Western Conference’s long-running superiority over the East, but it kept going into deaf ears.

Now that the league is under pressure to resume the season and crown a champion, though, all during a very strange and challenging time, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his executives could start heavily considering the re-format. It’s simply the perfect chance to test the waters, especially if they want to jump straight into postseason play upon return.

Here’s how the match-ups will look with a 1-16 seeding:

Aside from the excitement on a fresh new format, there’s also the intrigue on some of the match-ups that wouldn’t happen under the standard conference seeding.

Among them is the #2 and #15 face-off between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets. It has the LeBron James versus Kyrie Irving storyline, as well as the possible return of Kevin Durant, who will surely add extra spice into the series.

Then, there’s also the #8 and #9 battle of two scrappy, hard-nosed teams: the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder. Miami has two-way All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, plus a parade of shooters, while OKC has the Point God himself, Chris Paul, emerging guard Shai Gilegous-Alexander, and a combination of solid veterans and youngsters.