BUBBLE-BURSTER
Williams punished for breaking rules
Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams must undergo a 10-day quarantine before he can return to the court during the NBA restart, the league confirmed Sunday, a decision that knocks one of the NBA’s top-scoring reserves out of the Clippers’ lineup for their first two official games.
The Clippers officially restart their season Thursday against the Lakers. They then play Aug. 1 against New Orleans. The Clippers, who own the second-best record in the Western Conference, play eight seeding games before the postseason begins Aug. 17.
Williams will also forfeit money for the games he misses, according to league rules.
The quarantine ruling came after Williams was the center of controversy this weekend. Williams, 33, left the league’s campus at the Disney World resort near Orlando, Fla., after his team’s first scrimmage Wednesday to attend a funeral near Atlanta. The absence was ruled excused by the NBA, meaning Williams would have to quarantine for only four days upon his return to Disney World.
But by Thursday night, rapper Jack Harlow posted a picture of Williams — wearing an NBA-branded mask — at an Atlanta strip club on Instagram. The post was later deleted and Harlow later wrote on Twitter that it “was an old pic of me and Lou. I was just reminiscing cuz I miss him.”
The NBA soon began “looking into” Williams’ activities while away, according to two people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, and Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Saturday that the team was not pleased to see the pictures.
“He’s back here; I call tell you that much,” Rivers said. “And obviously those got out and that’s something we obviously didn’t enjoy seeing or liked.”
Williams is the Clippers’ third-leading scorer this season, averaging 18.7 points per game off the bench. The three-time Sixth Man winner scored a team-high 22 points on Wednesday during the Clippers’ first scrimmage ahead of the restart.
Embiid hurting already
Joel Embiid is hurting, and that’s a cause for concern as the Philadelphia 76ers get set to restart their season this week.
The All-Star starting center sat out Philadelphia’s scrimmage against Oklahoma City on Sunday with right calf tightness, something 76ers coach Brett
Brown hopes is merely a minor blip.
“I believe we’re just getting out in front of stuff and being smart with it,” Brown said.
Embiid has an extensive injury history, has never appeared in more than 64 games in a regular season and missed 21 of Philadelphia’s 65 games this season before the season was shut down March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Embiid is averaging 23.4 points and 11.8 rebounds this season. Philadelphia is 28-16 in games with Embiid this season, 11-10 without him.
Forgetful players
The league is handing down one-day quarantines to players who forget to go to their designated locations for the daily coronavirus test — with Dallas’ Kristaps Porzingis the latest to get that penalty.
Porzingis missed Dallas’ scrimmage on Sunday because of his forgetfulness. Denver’s Paul Millsap had to sit out the Nuggets’ scrimmage on Saturday for the same reason.
Voting talk
Former First Lady Michelle
Obama was scheduled to speak Sunday with NBA and WNBA players about the importance of voting — her remarks to those groups coming exactly 100 days before Election Day in the U.S.
“We’re going to talk about the importance and making sure your voice is heard,” said Oklahoma City guard
Chris Paul, the president of the National Basketball Players Association.
Light day
Of the 22 teams at the NBA restart, nine took the day off — at least from formal practice, though that didn’t mean players from those clubs couldn’t shoot or work out in small groups or on their own
There were five scrimmages on the day’s schedule. Orlando, Sacramento and Brooklyn all were scheduled for practice.
The other teams at Disney — the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington, Miami, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Utah, New Orleans and Denver — were down to take the day off.
All teams will play their final scrimmage game either Monday or Tuesday.