Beijing time on December 24, the second day of the NBA regular season, the league arranged 13 games, in addition to the first 4 teams, the other 26 all appeared. However, there was one game that could not be carried out normally-as the Rockets could not make up the eight-man roster, the Rockets vs. Thunder opener originally scheduled to be held today will be postponed.
is no exaggeration to say that the inside of the rocket is now a mess.
Let’s start with Harden. Before the start of the regular season, Harden was exposed to clash with teammates in training and threw the ball at rookie Tate. In addition, Harden refused to answer "Is there any relationship with the team?" All signs indicate that Harden is determined to leave the team. For this reason, he will even make some "extraordinary moves."
As expected, just after the "throwing ball at the rookie" incident, another fan photographed Harden went to a nightclub strip club without a mask, even though Harden had clarified that he was not in a strip club, but at a friend’s party , But in accordance with the league’s epidemic prevention regulations, players should take the initiative to stay away from clubs and parties, which Harden obviously failed to do.
For this reason, the league issued a fine of $50,000 to Harden. It needs to be said that this is not all. Harden needs to be tested and observed for a period of time before returning to the team. During this period, every missed one The game will cost him $573,000 in losses.
In addition to the Harden incident, there has been a new crown crisis within the Rockets.
One infected person is McClemo. According to reports, McClemo tested positive for the new crown a few days ago. He is still in self-isolation until now, and naturally he cannot play in the opener.
Another infected person has not yet been announced, but Wall, Cousins, Martin Jr., Tate and many other players are listed as close contacts of the new crown. According to regulations, they all need to be quarantined and tested. It may be a short time. Can not participate in the competition. Due to the isolation of multiple players, the Rockets could not make up the eight-man lineup, which also caused the opener to be postponed.
The worst thing is probably the Thunder. The Thunder was not informed of the Rockets’ status. The whole team flew to Houston by plane, but the game suddenly stopped. If you remember, Gobert was infected in March this year. , The Jazz game was postponed, and the opponent at the time was also the Thunder.
Back to the Rockets, if Harden’s matter is an internal issue of the Rockets, then this new crown crisis may spread to the entire league-unlike the quarter-finals, the players are not in a closed and safe environment this season Playing, in other words, every player needs to consciously abide by the rules to ensure that there will be no infection among players.
However, this is also very difficult. On the one hand, the league cannot guarantee that players will not appear in gathering places like Harden. On the other hand, some stadiums now allow fans to enter, and no one can guarantee that they will. No infected fans will spread the new crown to players.
The facts are also true. In today’s interview, Nuggets coach Michael Malone also said: “This won’t be the only game postponed due to the new crown epidemic.” Considering the situation in the United States, the worst case may be Gobert’s situation will happen again, and it will stop again, maybe it’s just a matter of time.
