On January 12, the league and the players’ federation announced new health protocols to deal with a wave of game delay. Under the new rules, players and staff are required to stay at home or in hotels when on the move, except for team activities and essential duties. Following a recent game between the Miami Heat and the Nets, a security officer interrupted Nets guard Kyrie Irving’s attempt to change jerseys with the Heat’s Bam Adebayo – much to Irving’s dismay. (Irving slipped a jersey to Adebayo after their next game two days later.)
Other players have also weighed in at the All-Star game. On Friday, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, who was selected last season for his first All-Star team, said, “I feel like they have done a great job protecting us for the most part,” referring to the league, ” although you cannot control everything. But I understand the concerns about it, especially in Atlanta. “
His teammate Kemba Walker, a four-time All Star, told reporters on Friday that he agreed with James.
“He’s a smart man,” Walker said. ‘He’s already been there. He is a leader. Many things he says are correct. He feels the way he feels. I’m probably going on vacation. “
Earlier this week, De’Aaron Fox, the top guard for the Sacramento Kings, said holding the match would be “stupid.”
“If we have to wear masks and do all of this for a normal game, what’s the point of bringing back the All-Star game?” Fox told reporters. “Obviously money makes the world go round, so it is what it is.”
At this point, the postponement of the NBA’s virus-related game has eased. The most recent was on Monday, when the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets were due to play in Denver. Two days later, the league said in its weekly report that no new players had tested positive for the coronavirus. There had been one case the week before, a sharp drop from the 27 reported cases in the two weeks before. In January, several teams missed multiple players due to infections and contact tracking, but now most teams miss no one for that reason.
NBA players – like much of the country – are under tremendous mental pressure, as the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green said in a podcast interview posted on Friday. He said this season has been particularly difficult with longer days due to daily testing and limitations in the competition’s protocols.