NBA expected to decide Thursday on playing status of Danuel House

House allegedly allowed a female COVID-19 testing official into his hotel room, per Chris Haynes, which would break “bubble” protocol.

The NBA is expected to make a ruling Thursday regarding the playing status of Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr., according to a new report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

House is under investigation for an alleged violation of protocol at the league’s “bubble” site. Per Haynes, that violation is “for allegedly allowing a female COVID-19 testing official into his hotel room.”

“House maintains his innocence, sources said, and a decision from the league is expected before Game 4 on Thursday,” Haynes wrote.

While testing officials are allowed inside the bubble, they go in and out each day and (unlike players) do not live there. Thus, as with maintenance staff, the league has protocols in place to minimize the potential exposure of those workers to NBA personnel living at the bubble.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon, the NBA could subject House to a 10-day quarantine period, as occurred with Houston’s Bruno Caboclo for a violation in July. Should that occur, House would likely be out for the rest of Houston’s second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. (The timing of the alleged violation was Monday night, and Game 7 between the Rockets and Lakers — if necessary — is currently scheduled for next Wednesday, which is nine days later.)

The NBA is said to be discussing the matter with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), per ESPN.

On the other hand, with House maintaining his innocence, a positive ruling on Thursday could allow him to play as soon as tonight’s Game 4. House did not play in Game 3 due to personal reasons, and the Rockets clearly missed his contributions off the bench. In a 10-point loss, only one Houston reserve (Jeff Green) scored, and the Los Angeles bench outscored those in Houston by a decisive 42-16 margin.

In nine playoff games, the 6-foot-6 House has averaged 11.4 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.8 rebounds in 31.0 minutes, and he’s among the most athletic and versatile options for the switch-heavy defense.

In Sunday’s Game 2, the 27-year-old had 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, and he hit 3-of-7 from 3-point range (42.9%).

Game 4 between the Rockets and Lakers tips off at 6:00 p.m. Central on Thursday, with a national TV broadcast on TNT. Houston now trails the West semifinal series by a 2-1 margin, which makes Game 4 very important to their chances. Historically, only 12 teams in NBA playoff history have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.

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