82 Game Season Could Begin on Thanksgiving

According to multiple sources, talks between owners and the players union are going well today and Chris Sheridan is speculating that a full 82 game season could begin on Thanksgiving if a deal is reached within the next couple of days.

Basically, there can be three things that happen today:

_ Progress is made and the sides agree to met again tomorrow.

_ No progress is made, and both sides walk away in disgust.

_ An agreement in principle is reached.

If it is option No. 3, or if Option No. 1 turns into Option No. 3 within the next couple of days, the season could open on Thanksgiving. Each team will have missed about 10 games, and those games could be added to a reconfigured 82-game schedule that would last into late April, pushing back the end of the playoffs to late June. (They pushed back the playoffs in 1999 after the lockout, and the draft was scheduled to be held one day after Game 7 of the Knicks-Spurs finals had the series lasted that long.)

The sooner this deal gets done the better for the Celtics. If the lockout lasts longer and the veteran Celtics are forced to play 5 games a week or back to back to backs, their odds at #18 would be diminished.

We'll keep you posted on any further details from today's meeting.