Nets plan to play on Christmas
Durant, Brooklyn’s leading scorer, unlikely in matchup with Lakers
The Brooklyn Nets have enough players to fly to Los Angeles and play their Christmas showdown against the Lakers, though Kevin Durant might not be among them.
Coach Steve Nash said Thursday that James Harden has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but he said the Nets don’t expect any of their players still in the protocols to come out in time for the game. That would include Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer.
Brooklyn planning to play on Saturday is an obvious positive sign, as was Chicago coach Billy Donovan announcing after practice Thursday that the Bulls no longer have any players on the protocols list. The Bulls had as many as 10 on that list last week, when the league postponed two of their games as a result.
The Nets have had their last three scheduled games postponed — among the NBA’s nine postponements thus far — when a coronavirus outbreak left them with a league-high 10 players in protocols. Nash said Harden, Paul Millsap and Jevon Carter had also cleared protocols, though rookies Cam Thomas, Kessler Edwards and David Duke Jr. had since entered.
Teams need a minimum of eight players to start a game. Nash said the Nets have more than enough to do that.
But it’s unclear if they will have another practice before the game Saturday. Nash said it’s only in the last day that healthy players have been able to return to the practice facility for individual workouts.
“It’s tricky,” Nash said. “We haven’t been able to do a lot, but we do what we can and we’ll continue to just adapt as the rules and mandates come in.”
By late Thursday afternoon,
based on team injury reports or similar disclosures, there were more than 90 NBA players dealing with a virusrelated issue — often a positive test, though not always.
The list included stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Trae Young. All three are scheduled to be part of the NBA’s five-game holiday schedule.
Later Thursday, the Washington Wizards announced star Bradley Beal would miss that night’s game at the New York Knicks because of health and safety protocols. Beal, who missed out on the chance to play in the Olympics last year after testing positive, said before this season he was unvaccinated.
The Detroit Pistons said on Thursday evening they had added four players to the protocols, where they joined rookie Cade Cunningham, the team’s leading scorer.
It is important to note that players can enter and exit the health and safety protocols list quickly in some cases, some teams do not release updated numbers except when mandated by league rule, and not everyone on the list has tested positive for COVID-19.
Also important: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this week in an interview with ESPN that positive-testing players who have received booster shots tend to show, at worst, very mild symptoms. The league says 97% of players are fully vaccinated; the National Basketball Players Association says 65% are boosted, and it is a top priority of the union right now to get that number much higher.
Meanwhile, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said the NBA and the NBPA are continuing discussions on whether to change the current protocols about returning to play after a positive test — something that typically has taken 10 days or more in most cases. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because nothing had been finalized.
Durant was placed in protocols last Saturday along with Kyrie Irving, a day after the Nets said they were bringing the point guard back to play in road games. There’s still time for him to return two negative tests 24 hours apart to be cleared, though Nash said the Nets weren’t expecting that.
With the Lakers’ Anthony Davis already sidelined with a sprained left knee, Durant’s absence would remove another superstar from what was expected to be one of the marquee games of the regular season when it was scheduled.
The Nets have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but Nash said it’s going to be difficult to pick up where they left off after not playing for a week.
“We’re one of the few teams around that league that’s had a pause, so to jump back into the rhythm of the league is a difficult task,” he said. “But we have to approach it with excitement and opportunity, and also not put too much pressure on ourselves to re-enter.”