Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers has left the NBA “bubble” complex in Florida due to an urgent family matter, as first reported Friday morning by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets “are hopeful that Rivers will be able to return soon,” and Charania followed with an update that Rivers expects to return “sometime this weekend.”
Per NBA safety protocols, if Rivers’ absence is for seven days or fewer, he has to quarantine in his hotel room for four days upon his return before he can resume basketball activities and rejoin his teammates.
If Rivers is gone for more than a week, protocols still call for a quarantine of just four days, as long as he shows a negative COVID-19 test on the final seven days he is gone. If Rivers is not tested daily while outside the bubble, he would have to quarantine for at least 10 days upon re-entry. However, it appears neither the Rockets nor Rivers are currently anticipating his departure to be for more than a week.
Can confirm that Rockets guard Austin Rivers had to leave the NBA campus for family reasons, per source. @ShamsCharania first to report. The Rockets are hopeful that Rivers will be able to return soon.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) July 24, 2020
The four-day timetable means that Rivers almost certainly will miss all three of his team’s scrimmages on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday.
In order to be eligible to clear quarantine by Houston’s first regular season game on July 31, Rivers would presumably have to return to the bubble by Monday. Per Charania, that appears to be his current plan.
Rockets' Austin Rivers expects to return to the Orlando bubble sometime this weekend, sources said. https://t.co/eMpEYuha8a
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 24, 2020
Now 27 years old, the 6-foot-4 Rivers is averaging 8.5 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 2.4 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game this season. As a key backup to All-Star guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden, Houston relies on Rivers for ball-handling, shooting, and on-ball defense.
On the court, Rivers’ absence is likely to mean more minutes for reserves Ben McLemore and potentially DeMarre Carroll.
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