Florida has seen a massive increase in cases of COVID-19, prompting some players around the league to drop out of the restart in the interest of health and safety. Others are still on the fence, but Toronto Raptors All-Star forward Pascal Siakam has faith that the NBA has the players' best interests in mind and will work in tandem with teams to ensure the safety of the players.
The NBA is preparing for the league restart in Orlando later this month, though there are still questions as to whether the “bubble” will work.
Siakam acknowledged seeing the rise in positive cases in Florida is “scary,” but also said the Raptors have been stressing the need for isolation (via Lisa Ewing of the Globe and Mail):
“Obviously Florida is one of (the U.S. states) that’s pretty high at the moment, but … the team has been doing a fantastic job in terms of making sure we’re kind of isolated,” Pascal Siakam said Friday during a video conference.
“Obviously, you’re kind of scared seeing the cases rise but you trust the team’s going to do everything, the NBA is going to do everything to make sure we’re safe.”
It is still unknown how the league will deal with the possibility of COVID-19 entering the bubble, though they have taken precautions against such an unfortunate situation.
In the meantime, Siakam and the Raptors hope to defend their NBA title.
Toronto is currently second in the Eastern Conference standings and had gone 4-1 in March prior to the suspension of play. The Raptors and Siakam will hope the bubble is indeed “safe” as they hope to challenge the Milwaukee Bucks as top dogs in the East.
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