With the season opener already delayed earlier this week, the Houston Rockets are handling a new COVID-19 contact tracking sequence ahead of Saturday’s game against Portland due to a positive test by a team official.
The latest round of contract seeking involves Eric Gordon and others, with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins facing seven-day quarantines, according to The Athletic.
The Rockets game on Wednesday against Oklahoma City was postponed because the team did not have the required minimum of eight players to play. The NBA announced that three Rockets players tested positive or inconclusive for coronavirus, and four others were quarantined due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
Ben McLemore and rookie Kenyon Martin Jr. were among the Houston players who tested positive on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
James Harden also did not qualify to play due to a breach of the league’s health and safety protocols, receiving a $ 50,000 fine after a video of him without a mask appeared at a party on Monday night on social media. Harden’s four-day quarantine expires on Friday, so he could face the Trail Blazers if Saturday’s game is played.
On Friday afternoon, the Rockets should have enough players to play and should fly to Portland on Friday night, according to the New York Times.
Cousins seemed irritated by the last round of questions, tweeting “Maneuver through the bulls – t” along with a red angry face emoji on Thursday night.