Eric Gordon details the ‘tough decision’ of playing amid COVID-19

The veteran Rockets guard offered candid remarks about the “tough call” of playing amid COVID-19 and the ongoing racial justice movement.

NBA players and coaches have consistently said for weeks that they trust Commissioner Adam Silver to create the safest environment possible at the league’s planned “bubble” complex near Orlando.

After a multi-month hiatus due to COVID-19, the NBA is restarting its 2019-20 season at the Walt Disney World Resort later this month. Even so, the virus clearly hasn’t gone away in the United States.

That makes it a complicated decision for anyone eligible to attend, even with the NBA’s sophisticated safety plan to reduce exposure to the virus. While the Houston Rockets have only had one roster defection (Thabo Sefolosha) to date, veteran guard Eric Gordon explained Wednesday that the choice to play wasn’t easy for any of them. He said:

I’m very excited to get back started, just to see what our team is all about, and trying to achieve a championship. But just like any other player, it is a tough decision to go out there [and] leave your families for so long. With this virus, it’s at its highest peak almost everywhere around the country. For you to be gone and away from your family, it’s tough.

But most of us, I would say, are going to go out there and play. Hopefully everything out there is the best environment. We know Adam Silver is good at that. At the end of the day, it is a tough call.

Another factor cited by some players in their skepticism over whether to play in Florida is the growing racial justice movement. In his remarks via Zoom after a workout at Toyota Center, Gordon indicated that players could use the stage of the NBA’s restart to express themselves. He said:

This is a time where eyes are open to everybody. Stuff’s been going on for a very long time. For us now to get a wake up call… of course everybody as players, or anyone around the world, definitely wants to have their input and say. I’m just glad it’s finally come to light. Everybody is now really understanding, or at least trying to see, what’s happening in this country.

The 31-year-old Gordon, now in his 12th NBA season, did not say whether he plans to use the NBA’s reported option of allowing players to replace the last name on their jerseys with a statement on social justice. The league also plans to paint “Black Lives Matter” on the game courts.

Gordon and the Rockets are scheduled to depart for the Disney complex on Thursday, July 9, with their regular season resuming on July 31. The Rockets (40-24), who have already clinched a playoff spot, are currently tied for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference and could finish anywhere between No. 2 and No. 7 in the final standings.

Now in his fourth season with the Rockets, Gordon is Houston’s No. 3 scorer at an average of 14.5 points in 28.6 minutes per game.

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