With their season opener already postponed earlier this week, the Houston Rockets are dealing with a new series of COVID-19 contact tracking ahead of Saturday’s game against Portland due to a positive test by a team member.
The latest round of contract search involves Eric Gordon and others, with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins being quarantined for seven days, according to The Athletic.
The Rockets’ game against Oklahoma City on Wednesday was postponed because the team did not have the minimum eight players mandated by the league to play. The NBA announced that three Rockets players had tested positive or inconclusive for coronavirus, and four others were quarantined due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
Ben McLemore and rookie Kenyon Martin Jr. were among the Houston players who tested positive on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
James Harden was also ineligible to play due to a violation of the league’s health and safety protocols, and was fined $ 50,000 after a social media video of him surfacing without a mask at a party Monday night. Harden’s four-day quarantine expires Friday, so he would be eligible for the Trail Blazers if Saturday’s game is played.
Cousins seemed angry about the latest set of problems, tweeting “Maneuver through the bull-t” along with a red, angry-faced emoji Thursday night.