Seats are empty prior to the Knicks playing the Wizards at Capital One Arena. (Getty Images)

The wake-up call came on March 11. That’s when the NBA made the unprecedented move of suspending the season due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league had been in talks for days on how to work out the logistics of playing in empty arenas. But when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, Silver had to act swiftly and decisively. He decided to put the season on pause.

“The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic,” the league announced.

Hours after the NBA halted business, the rest of the sports world followed. The NHL paused its season and MLB delayed the start of its 2020 regular season. The MLS also suspended its season and the NCAA gave a whole new meaning to March Madness after it canceled the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, marking the first time college basketball won’t have a champion.

Silver was asked if there’s a chance the rest of the NBA season might be canceled. He said there’s an outside chance it could be, but it is too early to make that call.

“I just don’t know more at this point,” Silver said on TNT’s “Inside The NBA.” “There’s another factor that may go to the seasonality of this virus. Talk to a lot of experts and some have a theory, just as a common flu, as the weather changes, we may see it peter out a little bit. Again, we don’t know. At this point, we are just waiting.”

And so we wait.

President Trump and the coronavirus task force that includes leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci established federal social distancing guidelines to combat the pandemic. Those guidelines call for Americans to work from home and avoid social situations, as well as unnecessary travel. Trump said the guidelines will remain in place through the end of April, which means the NBA season won’t be restarting any time soon.

Fauci has become somewhat of a cult hero amid the health crisis. Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Steph Curry even had Fauci educate his millions of followers on Instagram about the coronavirus and the Q&A reached 50,000 concurrent viewers. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was among those who watched the Q&A – which also caught the attention of former President Barack Obama – and he said Curry represented the organization extremely well. “Steph is incredible and I’m so glad he interviewed Fauci,” Kerr said.

By the way, Fauci is no stranger to basketball. He played for Regis High School in Manhattan, so Dr. J isn’t the only one who can operate on the court.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told CNBC that he expects the NBA will resume play before fans are allowed back in arenas due to COVID-19 concerns.

“We have to be very cautious, particularly as we try to come back,” Cuban said. “I think at first though we’ll play a lot of games without fans and then figure it out as some of the available medicines … become available, we’ll go from there.”

Cuban added: “The NBA is going to try to come back as early as we can without spectators, just on TV and streaming, and just give people something to celebrate.”

Cuban garnered widespread praise for expressing intent to support hourly Mavericks employees impacted by the postponing of games, and attention for his own reaction to the news.

Even if the NBA restarts the season in May, it will alter the league calendar significantly and we could see The Finals stretched through August. But Cuban told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that having the NBA season in the summer might make the most sense.

“The only reason we haven’t played games past June 12 in the past is because our TV partners. As you guys know, households using television in the summer drops significantly. Well, the TV landscape has changed dramatically over the past three years, four years, and so those numbers and those equations have all changed significantly,” Cuban said. “But because there’s not a lot of competition — there’s only regular season baseball — I don’t think necessarily until August, but I can easily see us playing the last seven to 10 games of the regular season to get everybody back on course, and then going right into the playoffs going into July, if not August.”

Cuban is one of the strongest voices on the league’s board of governors. He won’t just be dropping radically ideas without the benefit of some hard intel.

The NBA has been a step ahead the rest of the sports world during this historic health crisis. Whenever Silver decides it is safe to resume games, you can expect others to follow.

All-Star center Dwight Howard is on his way to Hollywood to join forces with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Deron Williams returned to the Nets, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard are headed to Hollywood, and Jason Terry is moving from Dallas to Boston. The 2012 NBA offseason had plenty of franchise-altering moves — most of which benefited the major markets. So much for competitive balance. Some teams did better than others (ahem! Lakers), while most stayed above the fray and maintained status quo. OneManFastBreak.net highlights the winners and losers:

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Mitch Kupchak locked up executive of the year with his two monumental moves this summer. He pried Nash from the Phoenix Suns (a division rival) to give Kobe Bryant the best point guard he’s ever had. Then, he shocked the basketball world by acquiring the best center in the world without giving up all-star Pau Gasol. With Nash, Kobe, Ron Artest, Gasol, and Howard, the Lakers have easily the best starting five in the NBA and arguably the greatest starting five in basketball history. The Lakers’ Fab Five are armed with two league MVPs, two defensive players of the year, and the most skilled big man in the game. Even at age 38, Nash is still a terrific playmaker and he’ll make sure Gasol and Howard will get their touches on the offensive end. The Lakers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs mainly because their offense faltered and did not execute. Nash will step into the role of offensive coordinator and he’ll instantly make the Lakers a lethal offensive team. Howard adds to the Lakers’ great history of dominant centers, joining Mikan, Wilt, Kareem, and Shaq.

[VIDEO: DWIGHT HOWARD TRADED TO THE L.A. LAKERS]

BOSTON CELTICS

Boston reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2012 despite a gimpy Paul Pierce and a hobbling Ray Allen. Priority No. 1 in the offseason was to bring back Kevin Garnett. The Big Ticket re-signed with the Celtics, assuring he’ll retire a Celtic, and then general manager Danny Ainge added more firepower on offense by signing shooting guard Jason Terry, a member of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship squad. Terry addresses a major issue for Boston: scoring. He’ll help the Celtics avoid long scoring droughts with his ability to create his own shot and not have to depend on point guard Rajon Rondo to feed him the ball off screens. Terry can also serve as a backup point guard, giving head coach Doc Rivers more flexibility on offense.

BROOKLYN NETS

Deron Williams was arguably the biggest catch of the summer, and he was the first to decide where he wanted to play. Williams re-signing with the Nets gives the Brooklyn franchise a centerpiece and a name on the billboard of the team’s brand new arena. But Williams won’t be alone on that billboard. All-Star guard Joe Johnson was acquired from Atlanta, giving the Nets a studly backcourt combo and plenty of firepower. The team also re-signed power forward Kris Humphries to bolster its frontline. Now, if the Mikhail Prokorov can convince Dwight Howard to join the Brooklyn party then the Nets will be the biggest winner of the summer.

HOUSTON ROCKETS

Daryl Morey caught a lot of flak for letting Goran Dragic, Kyle Lowry, and Luis Scola leave town without compensation and then signed Jeremy Lin to a $25-million contract. On the outside, it looks like the Rockets are throwing in the towel. But if you look closely, Morey is fielding a team that is cap-friendly. Lin is going to be The Man in Houston, picking up the Asian fan votes vacated by Yao Ming. Lin should fit in nicely in Kevin McHale’s free-flowing, pick-and-roll heavy offense, and that’s likely the biggest reason why he chose Houston over New York (oh, the $14.8 million on the third year of the deal ain’t bad either).

Jeremy Lin signed a three-year, $25-million deal with the Rockets. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Rockets are cleaning house for the right reasons. First-round draft picks Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Jones are very good young players, and they should figure into McHale’s rotation from the start. The Rockets’ offseason is a perfect case of addition by subtraction.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Ever since Allen Iverson left town, Philly fans have been craving for star. Enter Andrew Bynum. Bynum gives the Sixers their first significant low-post threat since Moses Malone and he immediately turns the Sixers into one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. He’s arguably the second-best center in the NBA and, at 24, his ceiling is so high he has only begun to scratch the surface of the roof. Bynum, who won two championships with the Lakers, will be The Man in Philadelphia and his big body (7 feet, 290 pounds) in the paint will alter the way the Sixers play on both ends. Joining Bynum in Philly are free agents Jason Richardson, Nick Young, and Dorell Wright.

DALLAS MAVERICKS

When Deron Williams announced his decision to stay with the Nets instead of joining the Mavericks, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweeted this gem: “Russian 1, Cuban 0.” That, of course, is in reference to the Nets owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, getting over Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who was hoping to lure Williams to play in his home state of Texas. The Williams decision had a domino effect in the Mavs’ plan. Dallas’ all-out-effort to land Williams made Kidd a little leftout. Nobody likes to be second choice, so Kidd chose his own path by signing with the Knicks. But Kidd wasn’t the only Mavs guard to defect. Longtime Maverick Jason Terry, a member of the team’s 2011 championship team along with Kidd, is taking his talents to Beantown and join the Celtics. So, if you’re still keeping score, it’s now Free Agency 3, Cuban 0.

CHICAGO BULLS

The only good news this summer for Chicago are the improving health of Derrick Rose coming off knee surgery and the return of Kirk Hinrich, a big piece of the Bulls’ resurgence in 2008. But take away the Hinrich signing and the Bulls have had a nightmarish offseason. Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, John Lucas, C.J. Watson, and Omer Asik are all gone. All five were important cogs off the Bulls bench. Korver was arguably the Bulls’ best player in the fourth quarter, while Brewer and Asik are very good defenders. Lucas and Watson are not all-star players, but they both did an admirable job in Rose’s absence. Continuity is a big part of a championship team, and the Bulls are basically starting over with an entirely new bench unit (Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, and rookie point guard Marquis Teague) for the 2012-13 season. Belinelli is nowhere near the shooting Korver is, and Radmanovic is not someone you want guarding LeBron James — or any small forward for that matter — in the fourth quarter.

NEW YORK KNICKS

Phil Jackson calls the New York Knicks a “clumsy” team, and the Knicks tripped over themselves this offseason by not getting Nash. Then the Knicks made a bold move by signing veteran point guard Jason Kidd. The former Mavericks playmaker could turn out to be a better option because Kidd won’t mind running Mike Woodson’s isolation offense. Then the Knicks signed Raymond Felton, which was a little bit of a head-scratcher considering Felton was grossly out of shape last season and now he’s being rewarded for his unprofessionalism. The Felton signing basically forced fan favorite Jeremy Lin out of the rotation, and now New York enters the season the same way they left it — too many players playing the same positions. Lin was a cash cow for the MSG network and time will tell if Lin fans will keep following the Knicks.

ORLANDO MAGIC

In his letter to Magic season ticket holders, CEO Alex Martins wrote: “We look forward to this next chapter of Magic basketball and remain committed to our mission: To be world champions on and off the court, delivering legendary moments every step of the way.” Hmm. In order to win a championship, you must first qualify for the playoffs and, without Howard, Orlando will be far from being a playoff contender for the next few years. Martins and general manager Rob Hennigan were put in a tough spot. Howard made it clear that he wanted out of Orlando, but Martins and Hennigan failed to get the right deal. Sure they got some draft picks, but those won’t matter unless they’re lottery picks. It took Orlando nearly a decade to recover from the breakup with Shaquille O’Neal. When Howard came along, he made Orlando love basketball again. After eight years of basketball bliss, L.A. swoops in and breaks Orlando’s heart yet again. It’s like losing another girlfriend to the same guy 16 years later.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

NBA commissioner David Stern has canceled games through Dec. 15. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Wall Street Journal recently published a story on the economic impact of the NBA lockout to the networks and advertisers. The amount of money lost had the 2011-12 season been canceled is astronomical. Money is the main reason why there was a lockout in the first place, but money was also the reason why the league and its players now have a tentative agreement in place that would end the labor strife.

Simply put, NBA commissioner David Stern and the Labor Relations Committee did not want to stretch the lockout beyond Christmas Day or late January. All those so-called NBA experts who were saying “the sky is falling” and “the season is lost” should have taken a closer look at this bit of information before they made their doom-and-gloom forecasts:

— The NBA lockout greatly affects Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and ABC, and Time Warner Inc.’s Turner Sports, who pay the league $930 million per season to air games. Advertisers spent $807 million on NBA games that aired on cable and network TV last season, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking unit of WPP PLC.

— Madison Square Garden Co., which owns the New York Knicks, in a November public filing said if canceled games aren’t rescheduled, the company’s financial results would see a “material negative effect.” The Knicks are unveiling the first phase of their $850 million renovation this year and planned to raise ticket prices 49% in the lower seating section.

Stern and the owners threatened to kill the season but, in reality, the bottom line is this: the majority of the league’s owners did not want to wipe out the entire season. The Heat’s Micky Arison didn’t want to cancel the season, the Lakers’ Jerry Buss didn’t want to cancel the season and the Mavericks’ Mark Cuban didn’t want to cancel the season.

Now, there is a small faction of hardliners, led by Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who didn’t mind missing games. But those same small-market owners also said they were holding out because they wanted more competitive balance, and they didn’t want another LeBron James-type episode where a player can hold a team hostage while he considers his free-agency options.

The players are willing to split the basketball-related income at 50-50. In return, all they want is to tweak the system to allow room for player movement. That’s all!

Union executive director Billy Hunter said weeks ago that the collective bargaining agreement was at the 2-yard line and a deal was on the table if the owners just loosened up some of their demands. Stern canceled games through Dec. 15, but purposely left the all-important Christmas Day schedule on the table. Why? Because ABC and ESPN have large stakes in this day and Stern does not want to disappoint his TV partners.

It’s all about the money. Always has, always will. There is way too much money at stake for the league to simply press the red button and nuke the entire season.

“Let me just say, congratulations to the Spurs. They played a great series. George Hill emerged as a star and really was a difference-maker. They deserved to win. They’re a Texas team, so I guess I’ll be rooting for them the rest of the way,” Cuban said about his division rival, who became the first seventh-seeded team to move past the opening round since the NBA adopted the seven-game format for the first round.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks exited the first round for the third time in four years since reaching the NBA Finals in 2006.

“I’m proud of our guys on the way they kept on fighting back,” Cuban said of his team, which got down 22-8 early in the first quarter but rallied. “I’m not so proud of the NBA. I’m not proud of my inability over the last 10 years to have an impact like I wanna have so I kinda feel like I owe fans an apology. That’s just the way this business goes.”

Cuban’s mood lightened up a bit when someone asked him about the performance of rookie guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who showed flashes of brilliance in Game 6 as he scored 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench to provide a spark.

“Obviously he had a big impact on the game,” Cuban said of the player they call Roddy Buckets. “He showed all the things that all the ‘Free Roddy B’ people wanted to see in him, and he did it on a big stage. You look at the series George Hill had last year when he had a little bit of an impact and then this year he just killed us. So hopefully Roddy will look back at this year, where Roddy had a little bit of an impact, and next year he’ll be killing people.”

When a reporter asked Cuban how disappointed he was in losing in the first round to the Spurs again, Cuban fired back with: “It’s been a long time since we lost to the Spurs. So, you wanna ask a better question?”

In Cuban’s defense, the Mavs knocked off the Spurs in the first round last year and took them out as well in 2006, so the notion that the Spurs have the Mavs’ number is slightly off base and you can’t blame Cuban for his defensive response.

Cuban believes the Mavericks can contend for a title with Dirk Nowitzki as their franchise player and Rick Carlisle as the head coach. And a full training camp with midseason acquisitions Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood should improve the team’s on-court chemistry.

“We’ve got a great base,” Cuban said. “I mean, we’ll get a chance to work with each other. You could see some of the uneasiness because we haven’t had a full season to play together and that showed a few times. But we’ll pull all our pieces together and go at them again next year.

“Every year I tell you guys the exact same thing. We’ll be opportunistic and do our very best to put the best team on the court, and that’s never gonna change.”

Cuban also pointed out that only one team will be satisfied come June and everyone else will be searching for answers in the offseason.

“Last time I looked, five teams have won championships out of 30? Like I say every year, there’s one team that wins and 29 teams who tie for last place. You don’t change the way you approach success simply because of the questions.”

Mark Cuban is under fire for his comments directed at Kenyon Martin's mother after Game 3.

Despondent. Inconsolable. Livid. All three describe the state of the Dallas Mavericks. But instead of pointing out their obvious flaws, they’re pointing fingers at whomever they come across – whether it’s NBA referee Mark Wunderlich or Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin and his mother.

After the 106-105 home loss in Game 3 to the Nuggets – when an apparent foul was not called in the final seconds that enabled Carmelo Anthony to hit the game-winning 3-pointer – several members of the Mavericks, including owner Mark Cuban, were irate and let their emotions get the best of them. A very angry Cuban was seen shoving cameras and shouting profanities toward the officials. But Cuban did not stop there. With some Dallas fans yelling that the Nuggets were “thugs,” Cuban said to Martin’s mother, Lydia Moore, “That includes your son.”

Martin’s agent, Brian Dyke, also told the Denver Post that Cuban told Moore, “Your son is a punk.”

All the hostility between the Mavs and Nuggets has been simmering since Martin shoved Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki to the floor in Game 1. It came to a boiling point when Wunderlich and his crew missed a reaching foul on Dallas forward Antoine Wright during the waning moments of Game 3. With six seconds left and Dallas ahead 105-103, the Mavericks decided to intentionally foul Anthony to save their season. But something went very wrong in Dallas’ grand scheme.

After Martin inbounded the ball to Anthony near the 3-point, the Nuggets’ forward fumbled the pass, which ate up a few more seconds and Wright had to hold his ground because Melo was not in a scoring position. Once Melo regained possession, he drove to his right and that’s when Wright tried to reach for the ball, hoping for a whistle. However, Wunderlich and his crew decided to let the play go on and Melo was able to gather himself, rise up behind the 3-point line and drain the shot that mostly likely killed the Mavs’ season.

The NBA office said the officials missed the call, which made Cuban and the Mavs even more annoyed.

The fact of the matter is, the Mavs are upset because they realize they are fighting a losing battle. The Nuggets are the better team, and the Mavs have too many holes to plug. Center Erick Dampier is getting worked by counterpart Nene Hilario, Anthony is bullying his way in and around the paint, and Denver’s bench mob led by Chris “Birdman” Andersen, Anthony Carter and J.R. Smith is outplaying Dallas’ bench. The Mavs just don’t have the personnel to match up with the Nuggets. Josh Howard is clearly not healthy, which puts way too much on the shoulders of Nowitzki and Jason Terry.

And Cuban and the Mavericks can cry all they want about not getting the call late in the game, but the game was not lost on that noncall. It was lost when Dallas played prevent defense and played not to lose instead of playing to win. Sure, there was clear intent on Wright’s part to foul Anthony, but the execution was very poor. Wright needed to grab Anthony with both arms and make sure he was not going to get a shot off. If you have a foul to give, which the Mavs did in that situation, Wright should have committed it when Anthony was still driving to the basket.

Before the Mavs scream bloody murder on ONE play, they should look at the whole picture. Complaining and crying about NBA officiating is a sign of a loser’s mentality and a team with several insecurities. Dallas’ current roster is just not good enough to get out of the second round.