With the 2020 playoffs held at the league’s Disney World “bubble” complex near Orlando due to COVID-19, the Houston Rockets are close to a thousand miles away from their usual NBA home.
Nonetheless, with Hurricane Laura poised to threaten parts of the Upper Texas Gulf Coast on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the Rockets are well aware of preparations being made back in Houston.
Head coach Mike D’Antoni and his wife, Laurel, played key roles in helping Houston recover from flooding caused in 2017 by Hurricane Harvey. Now that another storm is on the horizon, D’Antoni said at Tuesday’s practice that the area is in his thoughts. Moreover, he is again prepared to help out, as needed, depending on the outcome.
When asked about Laura by a reporter, D’Antoni said:
I think it’s on the mind of everybody. It’s a topic of conversation. We’re getting real concerned about everybody, and hopefully you all stay safe. I really hope they prepared. And get ready to give money to disaster relief organizations to come in and help people.
We’ve all got to band together. We’ve been through it before, and it’s not going to be the last time. Every summer, we’ve got to take steps to do what you can do, and get ready to help your local agencies.
The latest information about the projected path of the storm and its anticipated arrival times are available from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). Laura’s landfall is expected to occur a few hours after the Rockets wrap up Wednesday’s Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against Oklahoma City, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. Central.
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Rockets coach, players help Laurel D'Antoni raise $1.4 million for Hurricane Harvey recovery https://t.co/eNMxLtdqhK
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) December 19, 2019