As stricter NBA health and safety protocols were put in place OKC Thunder news featured guard George Hill speaking frankly they ‘make no sense’.
On March 11th of 2020, the OKC Thunder and Utah Jazz game was postponed because Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Within hours the NBA had put the season on hiatus.
When the season resumed 22 teams headed to Orlando to play inside the Disney bubble. That experiment exceeded expectations. However, it wasn’t something the league could replicate for the 2020-21 campaign even in a truncated campaign.
Rather, the association and NBPA developed a new set of health and safety protocols with the view of having teams conduct games in their home market. All except the Toronto Raptors who were transplanted in Tampa Bay for their home games. The 2-8 start of the latter perhaps speaks to how significant changes can affect a club.
In the bubble players like Paul George spoke of how the isolation took a toll mentally. The NBA had foreseen this possibility suggesting each team have mental health professionals available in addition to the people and services they would provide.
As this season began, once again the OKC Thunder were involved with a situation where the pandemic halted a game. They were scheduled to begin the season playing the Houston Rockets on December 23rd, but positive tests and contact tracing resulted in the Rockets not having the minimum eight players available. Subsequently, the game was postponed.
As the season progressed there were a few positive tests and contact tracing that led to player quarantining. Considering how the pandemic was sweeping the nation and how the virus had infiltrated other leagues the NBA was fortunate so few players and staff had been affected.
Then suddenly things changed. On Sunday, January 10th the Celtics and Heat game had to be postponed and the 76ers played a game with Mike Scott still nursing an injury sported a jersey though he never touched the hardwood.
In the three days since that postponement, four more games were canceled when the Mavericks, Celtics, and Wizards couldn’t meet the minimum active player requirements. Several other teams are navigating similar issues. Some due to positive tests but often due to contact tracing.
That sparked a quick meeting with the league and NBPA to put tighter restrictions to the health and safety protocols in place. For the next two weeks (to start) the new protocols increase mask-wearing and reduce time spent in group sessions. The hardest change is off-court and specifically walked back leaving hotel rooms or the allotment of a single visitor on the road.
These new restrictions arose more as a result of the contract tracing since players who come into contact with a person who has a positive result have to isolate to ensure safety and stop the spread.
In a business that requires so much travel that can be daunting as several teams experienced this past week. Players from the Mavericks were stuck in Denver, Heat players were stranded in Boston, Clippers in Utah, and Bulls in Washington. Safe travel had to be arranged to get the players back home safely. This meant some players were literally locked in their hotel rooms, some up to five days.
Part of the issue is players who tested positive previously and thought they had antibodies have tested positive a second time. The league is concerned about this dynamic because some of those individuals weren’t being as cautious.
OKC Thunder news – George Hill says new protocols ‘make no sense’
These new restrictions faced some push back and OKC Thunder guard George Hill was one of the first to voice his displeasure.
ESPN writer Royce Young noted Hill’s comments about the new protocols:
"“We wanna play the game…but I don’t understand some of the rules. We can sweat 48 minutes with a guy next to us for 48 minutes, but we can’t talk to them afterwards. It makes no sense.”“I’m a grown man. I’m gonna do what I want to do. If I want to go see my family, I’m going to go see my family,” Hill, 34, said Tuesday. “They can’t tell me I have to stay in a room 24/7. If it’s that serious, then maybe we shouldn’t be playing. But it’s life; no one’s going to be able to just cancel their whole life for this game.”"
Sportsnet has the video of Hill’s comments.
As for Hill’s comments, taken at face value he makes some valid points. But I also empathize with the opposite stance.
First and foremost is the sheer number of people who have been infected or died from coronavirus. Young people aren’t in high-risk categories, and physically fit individuals presumably fare better. That said, we’ve all seen the reports of people dying across all age spectrums.
I imagine Karl-Anthony Towns has a very different perspective about the situation as he began the season without his Mother who died along with six other family members.
Virtually everyone I know has lost someone and Canada hasn’t been as badly affected as America. Still, I’ve felt the pandemic’s bite with losses including one of my best friends who was very healthy and wasn’t in a high-risk category. It’s made me almost OCD — overly cautious.
From the league perspective, they offered players the opportunity to not participate, but unless a special agreement is made with the franchise that would mean not getting paid.
The unemotional reality is the NBA is a business that already lost huge revenue last season and will again this year as long as fans aren’t attending games (and they account for approximately 40 percent of revenue).
The NBA is in the most difficult position of all the major sports. NFL and NHL players wear equipment and helmets. MLB players can wear masks in the dugouts and don’t come into contact. Whereas, the NBA is the only sport where athletes are physically engaged within inches of the other individual’s face and sweating.
This is where Hill’s comments taken at face value are relevant. If these restrictions need to be in place to the extent players can’t talk after a game how is it so safe to be in that person’s face sweating on them for 20 to 40 plus minutes?
It’s clear the NBA is most concerned about the sudden swell due to contact tracing. They need to be diligent to ensure they stop any spread. With limited rosters of only 17 players, we witnessed this week how easily ten players can end up quarantined. And, that leads to postponements.
Hill is known to be an impeccable teammate and a leader. He’s married with children so it’s also reasonable to assume his comments could’ve meant if I want to see my wife I will.
It’s a slippery slope. Teams can’t tell older vets – okay we know you’ll be safe but then tell the young guys sorry not you.
Adding fuel to the need to be more restrictive are the players who haven’t made smart decisions like James Harden who was out partying (and again, some players who’ve had the virus have gotten it again). Or the recent video of Kyrie Irving who is away from the Nets shown at a birthday party without a mask in a group.
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- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
There aren’t a lot of options and no easy answers.
All we know for sure is this pandemic has changed life as we know it and as it rages on all we can hope is the vaccine can be administered expeditiously and that it works equally as well on all the variants of the virus.
Ultimately, the young leader and rising star of the Thunder summed up what many of us are hoping for:
"“It’s what’s necessary, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of this COVID thing,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If it means I have to wear a mask on the bench the whole time, it is what it is and I’m gonna do it. I want to get back to normal living, and whatever it takes to get back, I’m going to do it.”"
As the pandemic continues to rage into a year of existence, everyone can relate to SGA’s comments. It’s been so long since “normal” existed it’s hard to remember what “normal” is although each of us is pining for that precise thing.
Sending out prayers and positive wishes that everyone stays safe and healthy and here’s hoping Shai’s words become our reality in the very near future.