Bill Baptist / Getty Images
About a week after the NBA’s great Disney World experiment, the league is beginning to have an indication of how its meticulously designed “bubble” is going to work. Despite some setbacks, its structure so far has remained intact, and in fact, those speed bumps are proving that the extensive set of security protocols established by the league and the players union to prevent the coronavirus are working exactly as they were. I expected.
Monday was the first news-packed day at the forefront of evidence since the 22 teams involved in the NBA restart arrived in Florida last week. Houston Rockets superstar Russell Westbrook, who did not travel with the team to Orlando, Announced through social networks that tested positive for COVID-19 before the team left. Two players, Bruno Caboclo of Houston and Richaun Holmes of Sacramento, were revealed to have broken mandatory quarantine, with Holmes explaining who accidentally crossed the campus boundary to pick up a delivery order. Both must be quarantined again.
Most significantly, the NBA and NBPA announced the first round of test results last week: Only two of the 322 players tested positive for the coronavirus. The league revealed that positive tests for those two players appeared while they were still in quarantine, and both players were subsequently removed from campus to isolate themselves.
Everything seems precarious, and it is. The NBA is trying to reassemble this season in the state that has become the American hotbed of the pandemic. Even though there are plenty of rules for keeping NBA staff isolated (113 pages, to be exact), there is a very real chance that everything will fall apart sometime in the next three months, before the NBA can crown to a champion for the 2019-20 Season.
But as they adjust to life in the bubble, players and coaches react to these initial drawbacks without diminishing confidence that the league restart will finally be a success.
“It probably has grown, if at all,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said of the availability of virtual media Monday. “I mean, now, look out of the bubble at what’s going on. Right now, the United States is on fire somehow to COVID. Here, we’ve had two [positive] tests We had two types, two types that broke the protocol. One I know was a mistake, and the other just happened. I am very, very happy with what has happened so far.
“Does that mean we are going to be able to accomplish this? I don’t think anyone knows yet. But the guys I’m listening to don’t generally complain much. We don’t have the place to complain when you think about what’s going on in the world “.
While the two positive tests announced by the league and a big name like Westbrook that test positive outside the bubble are the two headlines, these early results show, despite their flaws, how prepared the NBA is for any of these scenarios.
The league caught the Westbrook test sometime between June 23 and the team’s departure last week, along with positive tests from many other league players, including several members of the Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets. . That’s why they started testing regularly when players returned to their markets, to find and isolate positive tests early and avoid an outbreak. That’s why Westbrook didn’t fly with the rest of the Rockets.
The quarantine violations by Caboclo and Holmes appear to have been accidental and ultimately harmless, but they are being handled seriously. Upon breaking the quarantine, both players were required to isolate themselves for an additional 10 days in their hotel rooms while continuing to record negative tests for coronavirus.
If that seems like an overreaction for Holmes to pick up a food order, that’s the point. The NBA is not playing – there is too much money at stake to allow anyone to bend the rules and risk bringing the virus to the bubble.
The two positive tests in the initial quarantine were also detected early, before those players were allowed to leave their rooms. Considering that it has been several days since most teams started practicing, and the false negative rate is relatively low, it seems likely that these stringent initial steps have been successful in stopping the spread of the virus, as has the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts designed them to do.
Everything is going according to plan. For now at least.
“They have taken extraordinary measures,” said Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts. “I feel very safe here. If someone does [test positive]They will be able to find it right away, track it down right away, and they will be able to nip it in the bud. “
A handful of players have been late to Disney World, for whatever reason. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard was dealing with a family matter and did not travel with the team, but arrived soon after, clearing the quarantine and making his debut on Monday.
Leonard, generally a man of notoriously few words, sang the praises of Silver’s setup and his early success in preventing the coronavirus from spreading within the NBA bubble.
“I mean, I’m not surprised that someone understood [upon arrival]Leonard said Monday. You bring in so many people from different cities and states, and there is no control over that. But I think we are doing the best we can. The NBA organized this process, this quarantine, and we’re doing everything under test guidelines every day, trying to stay socially distant from everyone. But who knows what will happen. All we can do is try to stay optimistic and positive, and we look forward to finishing this season. “
Bleach report @ @Bleach report
Fun Guy is all smiles in the bubble 🙂 (via @NBA) https://t.co/462mQrmLZk
The NBA has its protocols in place, and so far they are working. Now everyone in the bubble – players, coaches, team and league staff and the handful of authorized media members – must follow the rules. That’s a lot of people and a lot of moving parts. The league hopes that the first examples made from Caboclo and Holmes make everyone more aware of the smallest things, like an apparently innocent food delivery, that could make the entire experiment collapse.
“It’s difficult, especially if you’re a bigger guy like me,” said Blazers center Hassan Whiteside. “I have to eat a lot of food. The boys made a mistake with the Postmates. You learn. I think there will be more mistakes as I go along, but the boys are learning what you can and cannot do.” This is new for everyone.
“Just stay away from the Postmates.”
Sean Highkin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. He currently resides in Portland. His work has been honored by the Pro Basketball Writers’ Association. Follow it on Twitter, Instagram and in the B / R application.
.
