The NBA is seemingly making this stuff up as they go and I love it
I would love to chat with someone who can follow the NBA’s logic on many issues. The one troubling me today is how they determine the length of quarantine for players that leave the bubble. The NBA is doing some wild stuff, to begin with, as they restart the league in a modified version. Of course, they aren’t letting fans in the arenas, that would be irresponsible. However, they are being responsible and remaining socially distant on the bench, which is the right thing to do. Of course, only after each player is on the court with 12 other individuals (including refs) sweating all over each other while setting screens, defending on the block, and competing for rebounds. One thing is for sure, the NBA’s quarantine science is anything but.
Zion May be Available for Opener
The latest logic is that once you leave “the bubble” you are to be quarantined upon re-entry. This makes sense. What doesn’t quite add up is that there aren’t the same rules for everyone. Zion Williamson left the bubble on July 16th and returned on July 24th. He was tested each day while he was attending to a family matter which is SOP. Because of that, he will be potentially available for the Pelicans opening night on Thursday. That science is convenient.
Williams Stripped of Two Games
Lou Williams was also tested daily while he was outside the bubble but will be quarantined 2.5x longer than Zion. The high scoring two-guard attended a strip club in Atlanta for dinner with rapper Jack Harlow. He described Magic City as his “favorite place to eat.” I hear the fish platter is spectacular. He will be in quarantine for 10 days after having his photo taken, in a strip club, with a mask that was distributed by Disney. The masks were handed out when the players arrived at the bubble. You can chalk his quarantine up as more of a suspension than an abundance of caution.
You Had One Job to Do
Kristaps Porzingis didn’t attend to a family situation or go from the Magic Kingdom to the Magic City for dinner. He simply forgot to get tested. The longer I write this story the more I have to remind myself that we clearly aren’t dealing with brain surgeons here. You had one job to do in order to play basketball: Get tested daily. How many times do you think this point has been reiterated to the players while they have been at Disney? During the worst pandemic the world has seen since the early 1900s, a player that is part of the biggest sporting even restart in the world FORGOT TO GET TESTED. For that, you receive a 1-day “quarantine”.
So, there is a trend. The trend is inconsistency. The NBA is confusing “quarantine” with “suspension.” Now, I am not really all that upset with these rulings. I don’t watch the NBA anyways. The league has been a clown show for years as super teams ruined it long before the Coronavirus arrived on our shores. Thanks, China. However, you have to acknowledge the foolishness of some of the things that are going on.
