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JAMES Harden will be in quarantine until Friday (Saturday in Manila), which means that the Houston Rockets star and three-time NBA scoring champion could be eligible to play Saturday (Sunday in Manila) when his team finally opens. his season in Portland. .
The Rockets were scheduled to play Oklahoma City on Wednesday, a game postponed due to a variety of coronavirus problems. Among them, Harden was declared unavailable to play after the NBA determined he violated the league’s health and safety protocols.
Meanwhile, the league announced on Thursday (Friday in Manila) that of the 558 players tested for Covid-19 in the week beginning December 16, there were two new confirmed positive tests for players.
But, the Rockets-Thunder game is the only one postponed, so far, this season.
“None of this was predictable or ideal,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Thursday after his team’s practice in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder will now open Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in Charlotte.
“I am really satisfied with the mindset that the entire organization, including the team, adopted under the circumstances,” said Daigneault.
NBA medical personnel determined that Harden needed to be quarantined for four days, beginning Tuesday, before he could return to practice, games or team activities. The league was still checking to see if any other quarantine decisions were needed for other Rockets players.
By NBA rules, a team needs eight healthy players to play, and the Rockets were just one short on Wednesday. The team has 16 players on the roster and nine were left out: one was injured; three returned tests that were positive or inconclusive for coronavirus; four other players are quarantined as part of virus protocols; and Harden was not eligible.
Harden was fined $ 50,000 Wednesday by the NBA, which said he violated protocols. The league prohibits attending indoor social gatherings of 15 or more people or entering bars, lounges, clubs or similar establishments.
The video of the disgruntled star appeared on social media, where he was shown without a mask at a crowded party in a private event space Monday night. Harden, in a since deleted Instagram post, explained why he was at the event.
He wrote: “One thing [happened] after another. I went to show my friend love at her event (not at a strip club) because she’s 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 underneath, you can’t. Real people always finish on top. “
BY TIM REYNOLDS, AP
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