There seems to be some decent news in the process that will hopefully see the 2019-20 season resume after what has been a seven-week hiatus.
The NBA announced late last month that they will allow teams to open their facilities in states that have eased their COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions. While some teams plan for their practice facilities to remain closed, others are opening up.
The Houston Rockets are the latest team. CEO Tad Brown joined others within the organization in handing out groceries outside of the Rocket’s Toyota Center on Friday. In the process, he broke some news to the media.
“That’s the plan,” Rockets CEO Tad Brown said at a meeting with the media on Friday. “We’re certainly expecting it, and we’ll provide the safest possible environment for our guys. We fully expect that next week is going to be a good step in that direction.”
The NBA is making it clear that there’s ground rules for team facilities to be open. No more than four players can be on hand. Individual workouts only. No head coaches or assistant coaches.
This obviously isn’t going to lead to a miracle in that the NBA season can resume here soon. But it is an important first step.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott became one of 25 or so state leaders to announce plans to ease restrictions amid the pandemic. The state opened restaurants, stores, movie theaters and malls, among other entities, on Friday. There’s still a call for social distancing with venues being limited to 25% capacity.
Once Texas enters into new phases of reopening with other states following suit, there’s a good chance the NBA could give us a more concrete timeline when it comes to resuming the season.