The Houston Rockets practiced on Saturday at the NBA’s restart location in Florida for the first time since the 2019-20 season was suspended in March. The team’s All-Star backcourt of James Harden and Russell Westbrook did not participate, since they’ve yet to arrive in Florida.
No official reason for their delay has been given.
Following Saturday’s practice, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t give any specifics regarding the current situations of the former MVPs. He did, however, offer a more specific timetable for their arrival.
Among his comments:
I don’t think it’s going to be too many days. … In a few days, they’ll be here. It won’t set us back.
James and Russell were not here, but they’ll be here in a couple days, three or four days. And then we’ll get it going.
Mike D'Antoni on James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Luc Mbah a Moute, who are not yet with the #Rockets in Florida:
"I don't think it's going to be too many days. … In a few days, they'll be here. It won't set us back."
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) July 11, 2020
Rockets forward Thabo Sefolosha, who opted out of playing in Florida, said last weekend that some of his teammates had tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 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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If those positive tests were recent, that could be a potential explanation for any player who isn’t initially with his team in Orlando, since the NBA required players to test negative in the days just prior to travel. Cases of COVID-19 have surged around Houston in recent weeks.
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.
Given the expected timetable of two to four days, Harden and Westbrook should be with the Rockets well before the team’s first of three scrimmages at the Disney site on Friday, July 24. A week later, Houston’s 2019-20 regular season will finally resume on July 31 versus Dallas.
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D'Antoni with a more specific timeline:
"James and Russell were not here, but they'll be here in a couple days, three or four days. And then we'll get it going." #Rockets
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) July 11, 2020