Basketball: NBA game between Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder postponed after Covid scare

James Harden’s soap opera in Houston now comes with a canceled season premiere.

Houston’s first game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night was ruled out after coronavirus cases and Harden’s violation of the NBA’s Covid-19 protocols left the Rockets without the eight players available as mandated by the the league.

It was a daunting blow to the NBA on just the second night of an uncertain start to the season with the pandemic still in full swing.

The NBA announced the postponement in a statement that said that three Rockets players had returned tests that were positive or inconclusive and that four other players were quarantined due to contract monitoring.

The statement also said Harden was unavailable for the game due to a violation of health and safety protocols after video of the disgruntled star appeared on social media where he was without a mask at a crowded party in a space. for private events on Tuesday nights.

Already a distraction for the team amid months of rumors that he wants to be traded. Harden’s latest move potentially threatened the health and safety of his team and prevented the Rockets from starting their season.

The NBA announcement indicated that Harden’s violation of protocols was the determining factor in the Rockets not having the eight players needed to play; It would have been known before the team and the league investigated Harden’s situation that one player was injured, three others positive and four others would be in quarantine.

Houston has 16 players on its roster; with seven testing or quarantine related and one injury, that would have left eight eligible players, which is the league’s minimum to start a game. Harden’s unavailability brought Houston’s total available players to seven.

Houston’s injury report released Wednesday morning indicated that Ben McLemore and rookie KJ Martin were not with the team and were self-isolating and that DeMarcus Cousins ​​was questionable due to a sprained right ankle.

The NBA’s health and safety protocols for this season make it very clear: Players cannot attend large indoor socials (ie 15 or more people); bars, lounges, clubs and similar establishments; live performance venues and other similar venues. Harden’s deleted Instagram post explaining why he attended the event in question would certainly suggest that he was violating those rules.

In the post she wrote: “One thing after another. I went to show love to my house girl at her event (not a strip club) because she is becoming boss and putting her people in a position of success and now it’s a problem. Every day is something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name, you can’t. Real people always end up on top. “

But for now, the eight-time All-Star is on the shelf after admitting he broke the rules laid out in the protocols.

“In light of the severe and highly infectious nature of the coronavirus … individuals should not engage in activities or conduct that a reasonable person would consider to pose an unnecessary risk in relation to the significance (or lack thereof) of such activity or conduct, “say the protocols.

Harden, according to the protocols, can now be quarantined. And it will probably cost you a good sum of money; players “may also be subject to a proportional adjustment to pay for games lost during the period in which the player is quarantined and tested due to participation in such activities and / or conduct,” the NBA said.

Harden could lose about $ 280,000 for every game lost. Houston’s next scheduled game is Saturday in Portland.

Oklahoma City was also involved in the March 11 game that led to the league shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic; The Thunder were supposed to have been the home team that night for a game against Utah, canceled when it emerged that Jazz center Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19.

The Thunder, unknowingly, now find themselves back in history.

– AP