Spurs escape cold but not reality
COVID catches up with club in Charlotte as four players test positive
SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs spent Tuesday in Charlotte, quarantining from the rest of America and from each other, and it’s probably worth taking a moment to review the circumstances.
They went out on the road for two weeks, just like every year, to make room for a rodeo — one that didn’t need their shared arena after all, because of a pandemic. Unlike the other largest rodeos in the state, this one decided to hold events anyway at a smaller venue next door, until one of the most brutal cold spells in a century forced it to scrap at least two days of the schedule.
But the rodeo still is planning to resume when the ice melts, with organizers convinced attendees needn’t worry about the spread of the coronavirus that sent them next door in the first place, amid a pandemic that now includes positive tests for at least four Spurs players, according to the NBA.
Also, the Detroit Pistons, who were supposed to host the Spurs on Tuesday, had a Wednesday game in Dallas postponed because of power outages stemming from the same frigid weather that canceled two days of the rodeo. And the Charlotte Hornets, who played the Spurs on Sunday, are on hold to make sure none of the San Antonio players passed the coronavirus on to them.
Got all that?
As if we needed yet another reminder that the
sports world, which many look to as an escape from reality, cannot escape the realities of the world, here we are again. The bubble doesn’t exist anymore, assuming it ever did.
And when Gregg Popovich cautioned — or, perhaps, predicted — Sunday that “we are not even close to done with (COVID-19),” he wasn’t lying, and he wasn’t exaggerating. Normalcy?
It’s still going to be a while.
There will be basketballrelated fallout from the Spurs having to postpone at least four games on this road trip until the second half of the season, knocking them out of action until at least Feb. 24. But for now the main concern has to do with controlling the magnitude of the outbreak, and with the health of those who tested positive.
A story out of Boston on Tuesday provided a reminder that it might not be as simple as getting the team back on the floor in a
week and picking up where the Spurs left off.
In early January, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum tested positive for COVID-19 and missed more than two weeks of action. He returned to the lineup on Jan. 25, but on Tuesday after a shootaround, he told reporters on a video conference that he still is dealing with what he believes are the lingering effects of his illness.
“I have experienced some games where, I don’t want to say (I was) struggling to breathe, but, you know, you get fatigued a lot quicker than normal,” Tatum said. “Just running up and down the court a few times, it’s easier to get out of breath or tired a lot faster. I’ve noticed that since I’ve had COVID.
“It’s just something I’m working on. … It’s gotten better since the first game I played, but I still deal with it from time to time.”
While the experience Tatum described isn’t universal among those who’ve battled COVID-19, he’s far from alone in talking about the difficulties some athletes have faced in returning to game shape. Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves and Mo Bamba of the Orlando Magic are among those who have stressed how frightening the disease can be.
So the hope for the Spurs is that the cases are limited to the unidentified four players who tested positive, and that each of those cases prove to be mild. If all goes well, they could return to the court a week from Wednesday at Oklahoma City, where they can look to build on a 16-11 start that’s made them one of the NBA’s early-season surprises.
But as Spurs CEO R.C. Buford reminded everyone in a statement Tuesday afternoon, the franchise harbors no delusions about the priorities of its hometown.
“At this time,” Buford’s statement read, “basketball is secondary as we witness the hundreds of thousands of people in our community who are without power and other vital resources. Our hearts and thoughts are with our friends and neighbors who are dealing with these severe circumstances. We hope that everyone stays safe, warm and strong.”
As for the idea of helping their neighbors forget about the real world for a while? The Spurs, like so many others, would love to do that again someday.
But quarantining 1,200 miles from their iced-over community Tuesday, the Spurs knew one thing for sure.
Sometimes providing an escape is easier said than done.