James Harden and Russell Westbrook have yet to join the Houston Rockets and the rest of the league in Orlando. However, head coach Mike D'Antoni confirmed that his two superstars are arriving in the “bubble” soon.
“They'll be here in a couple of days, three or four days and we'll get going,” D'Antoni said, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
No explanation was given why the team's two best players haven't checked into the Grand Floridian hotel at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. However, Shams Charania of The Athletic previously reported that the two stars didn't join the team when they traveled to the NBA bubble in Florida.
Most of the Rockets contingent took the trip to Florida on Thursday, though Harden and Westbrook were among a small group of team personnel that didn't make the it. Recently signed forward Luc Mbah a Moute, as well as assistant coach John Lucas, did not fly with the team either.
D'Antoni flew with the team to Orlando, though he is still awaiting word from the league to be medically cleared to coach the remainder of the season. The 69-year-old coach said earlier in the week that he did not have any medical issues that would raise alarm.
The small-ball Rockets (40-24) will play their first scrimmage against the defending champion Toronto Raptors on July 24. It will be followed by scrimmages with the Memphis Grizzliesand the Boston Celtics. They will officially resume their season on July 31 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Houston currently sits on the no. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Before the season was suspended in March, James Harden was averaging 34.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game this season, while Russell Westbrook was putting up 27.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
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