A single NBA player’s positive test for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, caused an immediate pause on the NBA season and the subsequent suspension of all pro sports in North America. Rudy Gobert’s positive test caused a cascade of action throughout the United States and was just the first of a handful of positive tests on various NBA teams as the league shut down and tried to trace the spread of coronavirus in the Association.

Tuesday, however, brought word that if the NBA manages to restart its season in an attempt to crown a champion in 2020, a single positive COVID-19 diagnosis would not create the same chaos. Amid reports from various insiders about a conversation between major stars in the NBA and a conference call about the possibility of the league restarting later this summer was a theme stressed by NBA commissioner Adam Silver about the risks associated with a restart. Namely, if someone comes down with COVID-19 the league would not shut down immediately like it did in March.

“Getting comfortable” with life in the NBA amid positive coronavirus tests is a considerable challenge to overcome if the restart of the league is to be sustainable. Positive tests could come from asymptomatic players who spread it to others they’re in close proximity with, meaning a single positive test could lead to a cascade of new COVID-19 cases. It’s not just the inherent problem of having to remove that player or coach or staff member — no matter how valuable they are — from the lineup and back into quarantine but the fact that the person in question would then be unavailable for a matter of weeks as the season and postseason continued.

The NBA is exploring all options when it comes to resuming play, and players are interested in continuing the season and crowning a champion even if it means playing without fans. But the Association is not immune to the risks that come with grouping people together while a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus is spreading as a pandemic with little to no treatment available to fight it. Not every COVID-19 case is deadly, and several NBA players had minor cases and recovered relatively unscathed. But that’s far from the only result of contracting coronavirus, and the more time people spend together in groups like the NBA needs to actually play basketball heightens the chances of something going wrong in an attempt to finish the season. Tuesday’s news indicates the league is open to accepting those risks as necessary, and seems to be asking players and coaches to accept those terms in order to compete.

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Even if you clock lots o’ time in there, it doesn’t have to look that way to passersby.

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Who needs more clothes when you’re not going anywhere?

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“Hold my branch.” —Nature

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And they may have caught a break, after the same model of Russian ventilators burst into flames, killing six people in Moscow and St Petersburg this week.

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Over the past year or so it has become increasingly popular for NBA related Twitter accounts to post some sort of “pick ’em” grid that offers you the choice of players valued from $1-$5 and a prompt of “you have $15, who you got?”

These typically come from media or brand accounts craving that sweet, sweet engagement boost, and are often put together without too terribly much thought. However, on Tuesday, Twitter’s @LucasHoopsPoems produced arguably the best one of these pick ’em prompts I have ever seen, as there was clearly significant thought and effort put into it — as evidenced by the fact that he had friends look over it and work out some kinks before throwing it up online.

The addition of $6 players makes things much more difficult and also allows for more appropriate tiers. Because they didn’t make it fit in a neat 5 x 5 box, there are more players and, as such, the decisions you have to make are more difficult and the tiers are better divided. For instance, the $1 range features some specialists and players whose impact was clearly felt more on one end than the other, rather than being stacked with Hall of Famers.

There are also a ton of ways to go about putting together a team on this list, and all of them require some very tough decisions. Let’s go through a few of my favorite teams I’ve come up with.

The All-Never Won A Ring Team: Chris Paul, Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley, Joel Embiid

I feel like Reggie Miller in the $2 slot is one of the best values on the board, a testament to the guard depth in league history, and putting him next to Chris Paul would be a lot of fun. The issue with this team is, without a doubt, wing defense with Reggie and Nique, but offensively this team would rule and having Chris Paul pestering opposing point guards and Embiid lording over the middle of the paint I think we might be able to get away with it. The toughest decisions for me were Chris Paul v. Gary Payton and Barkley v. Anthony Davis, but I also love the idea of having all five of these incredible shit talkers all on one team and Davis would be the odd man out there.

First Team All-Defense: Gary Payton, Tony Allen, Kawhi Leonard, Dennis Rodman, Dikembe Mutombo

An absolute fever dream for those that wish we’d go back to those halcyon days of the playoffs when games finished in the 70s. The Glove and Tony Allen absolutely ruining opposing backcourts both physically and mentally, while Kawhi and Rodman fly around on the wings and Dikembe is ready to block anyone that makes their way to the rim.

First Team All-Offense: Allen Iverson, James Harden, Dominique Wilkins, Dirk Nowitzki, DeMarcus Cousins, (6th Man Kyle Korver)

The antithesis of the previous team, I want scorers with questionable at best defensive backgrounds (hence the selection of Harden over Kobe even though we had a dollar left over for Korver). We’re trying to average 150 points per game and I don’t care if we give up that many too. One basketball may not be enough for this team, but everyone in the starting lineup can average 25 without breaking much of a sweat.

The Best Team: Chris Paul, Reggie Miller, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Dwight Howard

I think this is the best team I can come up with. I can’t get over thinking CP3-Reggie is the best value backcourt combo you can make and they’re a really good fit. The forward spot is filled almost totally with fours, but I think Durant-Love works with prime Dwight anchoring things. It’s basically the concept of those late 2000s Magic — surround Dwight with shooters — but taken to a different level by adding the best pick-and-roll point guard partner possible for him, one of the best shooters in history in Reggie, one of the best scorers ever (and a tremendous wing defender) in KD, and a great shooter in Love who can rebound and knows how to play that role.

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Back when we started this crazy Sopranos rewatch podcast all those year ago, “Knights In White Satin” was exactly the kind of episode we had in mind. Episode 12 of season two, this one really is one of the greatest Sopranos episodes ever, easily a top fiver. It introduces all sorts of new and interesting characters, from Jackie Aprile’s son Jackie Jr. to Irina’s cousin, the one-legged chain-smoking Svetlana (one of my favorite characters in all the Sopranos canon) whose boyfriend romantically picked her up off the floor at the Gap store. But for the most part, episode 212 is an entirely self-contained miniature movie, with fully developed plotlines, complete character arcs, big twists, and satisfying resolutions. I bet you didn’t think Richie and Janice’s wedding was going to turn out like that, did you! If you’re a Sopranos virgin looking for one episode to get you hooked, check out this one, I’m friggin’ tellin’ you over heah.

As always we have your hosts, comedian Matt Lieb from Newsbroke and me, Vince Mancini, and this week we also welcome sportswriter Dave Schilling (ESPN, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, The Guardian), currently of the Full Court Chat podcast. We go through every plotline in Bada B Stories, countdown our favorite scenes, and explain those bits you may have missed. We hope you enjoy it, but in case you don’t, va fongool.

Don’t forget to give us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and please, say hi to your mothers for me.