The NBA community, with teams, players, and coaches, is gripping with the reality of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. It has led to known positive-tested players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and suspension of operations for 30 days. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr likened the four-week-long suspension of the 2019-20 season to a long, second All-Star break.
Via Anthony Slater in The Athletic:
We met with all the players at the facility yesterday. We told them we’d be in touch with them again on Monday when the NBA has a more definitive update. I think the league right now is trying to figure out what this 30-day hiatus is going to mean in terms of practice and drills, that kind of thing.
But we’re not practicing any time soon. Basically, our players, what I’ve communicated to them is that, from a basketball perspective, you have to treat this like it’s the All-Star break, where you’re not practicing, but you have to anticipate you might play a game soon.
The league could tell everyone to shut their facilities down. I don’t know. Or they could tell us we could work out with a certain number of players. We’re going to learn all that on Monday and we’ll share that with our players.
The NBA already had their All-Star break in February. It gave players not appearing during All-Star Weekend in Chicago a chance to relax and recuperate before the final third of the season. Kerr sees the coronavirus-spurred hiatus as another chance for players to relax. There are no practices or training facilities allowed and players and coaches are distancing themselves to prevent the spread of the virus.
For many Warriors fans, should the regular season for Golden State finish here, it would be a welcome relief. Golden State has had a rough season due to sidelined stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The Bay Area team should have both stars healthy for next season along with a top pick in the upcoming draft.
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