Following Sunday’s second day of training camp for the Houston Rockets at the NBA’s “bubble” complex near Orlando, there’s still no sightings or definitive news regarding the status of All-Star guards James Harden or Russell Westbrook, or new forward Luc Mbah a Moute.
All three players have been absent for undisclosed reasons as the team begins ramping up for the NBA’s restart, and Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni made it clear Sunday that the team wasn’t going into specifics.
“These are things that people are dealing with,” D’Antoni said in a Zoom session with reporters after Sunday’s practice. “We aren’t going to get into why or why not. They’re on the way.”
Coach D'Antoni was asked if he could say why Westbrook, Harden and Mbah A Moute aren't in Orlando yet:
"No. Not really. These are things that people are dealing with. We aren't going to get into why or why not. They're on the way." #Rockets
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) July 13, 2020
Rockets forward Thabo Sefolosha, who opted out of playing in Florida, said earlier this month that some of his teammates had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. However, he did not identify who, how many, or how recently. For medical privacy reasons, NBA teams are not required to report any individual player’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
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There could also be any number of other reasons for not initially being with the team. The Los Angeles Clippers, for example, allowed superstar forward Kawhi Leonard to arrive a few days late due to a family matter. Any player who did not on the team’s charter flight must test negative three times for COVID-19 before traveling to Orlando.
Those players who arrive late must then go through the initial two-day period of self-quarantine and COVID-19 testing upon entering the NBA’s “bubble.” That means they won’t be able to join their team on the practice court until two days after their arrival at the Grand Floridian.
According to D’Antoni, even considering those hurdles, the Rockets aren’t expecting to be without their former MVPs for very long.
“It’ll be soon,” D’Antoni said Sunday. “It’s not gonna be long, we hope. We think we’ll get them back in here towards the middle of the week.”
D'Antoni said he expects "middle of the week" for them.
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) July 13, 2020
D’Antoni said that even though the superstars aren’t currently with the team in Florida, they are still ramping up their physical activities in a similar manner to the rest of the team.
“They’re working in their home base,” D’Antoni said. “They’ll be ready to go for 5-on-5 [basketball] when they get here. I think by the time the eight [regular season] games are over, there won’t be any effect.”
For a third consecutive year, Harden is the NBA’s leading scorer this season at an average of 34.4 points per game. He’s also tallying 7.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds each time out. Meanwhile, Westbrook is posting an average line of 27.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game, all on a career-high shooting percentage of 47.4% from the field.
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Given the short-term timetable, Harden and Westbrook should be with the Rockets well before the team’s first of three scrimmages at the Disney complex on Friday, July 24. A week later, Houston’s 2019-20 regular season will finally resume on July 31 versus Dallas.
The Rockets (40-24), who are tied for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference, have already clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs and can finish anywhere between No. 2 and No. 7 in the final West standings.
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