Rockets learn NBA hotel partners and potential preseason opponents

The Rockets are staying at the Grand Floridian hotel with seven other teams, including Russell Westbrook’s old team (with Chris Paul).

As part of the NBA’s 22-team restart plan in July, the Houston Rockets will be staying with seven other teams at the Grand Floridian Resort hotel, according to a report Tuesday by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 22 teams are being divided into three separate hotels, each with eight teams or less and determined by current standings placement. The seven other teams to stay with the Rockets will include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and Orlando Magic.

Dividing the teams into different hotels at the neutral Disney complex near Orlando is one of many of the league’s safety measures aimed at reducing the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak. The reduced headcount would limit potential exposure in the event that someone in the “bubble” contracts the virus, and it would also assist with contact tracing efforts.

For the Rockets, the implications are twofold. After arriving at the NBA campus around July 7 and lasting until July 21, players and staff are asked to only participate in meals and other social activities with those at their hotel. Second, once the window for scrimmages against other teams opens on July 22, opponents will come from each team’s hotel group.

Thus, the Rockets’ three “preseason” games between July 22 and July 29 will come against some combination of the Thunder, Mavericks, Grizzlies, 76ers, Pacers, Nets, and Magic. The NBA’s 2019-20 regular season will then resume on July 30, though the eight-game schedule for each team in Florida has yet to be officially finalized.

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