Eyes turn to booster shots
ATLANTA — With the numbers of players around the NBA unavailable because of health and safety protocols on the rise, every Rockets player has had booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccinations, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
“Everybody’s done,” coach Stephen Silas confirmed. “It’s good. There’s all these cases. We’re definitely conscious of what’s going on around the league, for sure.”
An outbreak among the Chicago Bulls has placed 10 players in health and safety protocols and led the NBA to postpone the Bulls’ games Tuesday and Thursday. The Rockets are scheduled to play in Chicago on Monday.
Players are not required to be vaccinated, but those that are not face much stricter protocols. An estimated 97 percent of the league’s players were fully vaccinated. Increased game-day testing will begin this week for players who did not receive boosters, depending on when they were vaccinated.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association jointly recommended that players who received the Johnson & Johnson shots more than two months ago and those who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine six months ago get a booster. It was recommended that those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine seek a Pfizer or Moderna booster.
The Rockets were fully vaccinated before the start of training camp. Coaches, officials and team staff members who come within 15 feet of players were required to have both doses of a COVID vaccine and are required to have the booster shots to remain in that Tier I status.
Hawks a model for team rebuild
If Silas wanted to see reminders of how rebuilding can be accomplished, he would not have to look far to find familiar examples on the road trip. Silas was a candidate for the Hawks coaching position in 2018, and he is close friends with Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff, a former Rockets assistant and interim head coach.
The Hawks process could be considered especially similar, with three consecutive seasons falling short of 30 wins after 10 consecutive playoff seasons that included a 60win season and a run to the conference finals before starting a rebuild.
“The process they went through to get to this point could be similar to what we’re going through,” Silas said. “I actually interviewed here when Lloyd ( Pierce) got the job, so I was intimately aware of what the plan was. Travis Schlenk (the Hawks president) has done a great job with this group, putting it together.
“(The Hawks) obviously were rebuilding and taking their lumps for a while but growing and then slowly adding pieces, whether it was younger pieces like ( John) Collins and Trae Young or guys like ( Danilo) Gallinari and Lou Williams, who have been really great for them off the bench. Then, adding Clint ( Capela) was great for them.”
The Hawks went 41-31 last season and reached the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to Milwaukee.
Reputation rising for young club
Having moved several weeks from the long losing streak, the Rockets have appeared to develop a reputation that a young, “developing” team would
want if it is not collecting the wins to speak for them. Coaches have increasingly cited the sort of energy and determination that teams at their stage seek.
“They’re developing,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “When you’re developing, they’re playing free. They’re scrapping. They’re getting up and down the floor. When you don’t have those expectations, you play a little bit more relaxed basketball. And they’re capable. They have potential.
“They have guys playing with energy out on the floor, they can be a dangerous team. We know they’re going to come out and scrap for 48 minutes. They’re going to try to attack and attack the rim and put up a lot of points.”