NBA unveils second half of 2020-21 schedule

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The NBA released its schedule for the second half of the 2020-21 regular season Wednesday, detailing how it plans to have all 30 teams complete their 72-game slates despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The league revealed only the first half of its schedule in early December to allow for flexibility amid the pandemic. To try to keep things balanced, each team was scheduled to play either 37 or 38 games across the 73 days that first-half schedule was set to run through.

Because of coronavirus issues with several teams, however, the second half of the schedule will be less balanced than the first half and packed with more games for a handful of clubs.

The San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies -- both significantly impacted by COVID-19 this season -- have the most games to be played, with each having to play 40 games in just a 68-day stretch. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers will have only 34 games in a 67-day period.

The second-half schedule is set to end May 16, setting up a play-in tournament from May 18-21. That tournament will feature the teams that finish seventh through 10th in the Eastern and Western Conferences playing for the final two spots in each conference.

The NBA playoffs will then start May 22. The league previously said it wants to finish the postseason before the scheduled start of the Olympics Games in late July.