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On January 12, the league and the players’ union announced new health protocols to deal with a wave of game postponements. Among the new rules, players and staff have been urged to stay at home or in a hotel when on the road, except for team activities and essential tasks. After a recent game between the Miami Heat and the Nets, a security official halted Nets goalie Kyrie Irving’s attempt to swap 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 also weighed in on the All-Star game. On Friday, Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, who was called to his first All-Star team last season, said: “I feel like, for the most part, they did a great job trying to get us. protect, ”referring to the league,“ although you can’t control everything. But I understand the concerns about it, especially in Atlanta.
Four-time All Star teammate Kemba Walker told reporters on Friday that he agreed with James.
“He’s a smart man,” Walker said. “He’s there. He’s a leader. A lot of the things he says are correct. He feels what he feels. I’ll probably be on vacation.
Earlier this week, De’Aaron Fox, the Sacramento Kings’ top guard, said holding the game would be “stupid.”
“If we have to wear masks and do all of that for a regular game, then what’s the point in bringing back the All-Star game?” Fox told reporters. “Obviously money makes the world go round, so that’s what it is.”
For now, game postponements related to NBA viruses have calmed down. The most recent was on Monday, when the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets were scheduled to play in Denver. Two days later, the league said in its weekly report that no new player had tested positive for coronavirus. The previous week there had been one case, a sharp reduction from the 27 reported in the previous two weeks. In January, several teams were missing multiple players due to infections and contact tracing, but now most teams are no longer missing anyone for this reason.
NBA players – like much of the country – are under enormous mental strain, as Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green put it in a podcast interview that was posted on Friday. He said this season has been particularly difficult with longer days due to daily testing and restrictions in league protocols.
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