Frustrated. Overwhelming. Frankly weird.
These are the words used by the Nets to describe what happened Friday night, when Kevin Durant was removed from his lineup moments before the start of the game, and then allowed to play only to be removed from the field. of game for tracking contacts of the COVID-19.
“It simply came to our notice then [since] we follow the protocols, we put ourselves to the test every day, so I don’t quite understand where he couldn’t play and then he came to a court, and then they brought him back. There are only so many things that happen. There are too many things going on. It’s a little overwhelming, ”said James Harden, who addressed the question of whether the game should have been fully convened.
“If so, the game should have been postponed. If we talk about tracking contacts, he was hanging around us all, so I don’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to play and then he was able to play and then they took him off the court again. If so, we should postpone the game. That’s how I feel. “
Durant had been negative three times in the previous 24 hours, including two on Friday. Still, he was still removed from the track and is now not expected to make the trip to Philadelphia for Saturday’s huge clash against the 76ers. He left the Nets short and confused.
“Yes, I mean, it’s flawless: confusing, frustrating. I mean, it’s weird, right? So he doesn’t start, and then he can come in, play, and then get fired again. It really doesn’t make any sense, ”said Joe Harris, who was baffled by what this meant to the rest of the team in terms of contact tracking.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I would have said, “Hey, if he’s sitting for tracking contacts, I mean, what the hell? He’s with us all on the track.”
Harden had the same questions about contact tracking, wondering: if security was a concern, why play?
“I said what was going on and they just said contact tracking,” Harden said. “I’m thinking for myself, well, when it comes to locating contacts, we’re all in the locker room together – that means there won’t be a game if you can’t play. So that was my thought process, and once we went “I started to play the game, I forgot a little bit. Then Kevin enters the game and I feel like there’s confusion or something messy.”
What the Nets, and others like Lakers star LeBron James and De’Aaron Fox of the Kings, find messy is for the NBA to schedule the All-Star Game for March 7th. It will be held in Atlanta and COVID-19. the positivity rate in Fulton County exceeds 11 percent.
“The guys who are actually All-Stars, I feel bad,” Harris said. “Yes, there are many things where it really doesn’t make much sense. But it’s not me who makes the decisions. I just work here. “
It could affect Harden, who falls into the field of James and Fox, as he did not expect it.
“I haven’t said anything publicly, but I feel the same way as some of the players who are going through so much as we try to calm a virus and organize an event,” Harden said.
“I know what his reasoning is, but I like it, especially with a condensed schedule that was imposed on the players, which is already running out of playing a lot of games in a week. I think it was a week to relax, to be with our families to take a step in basketball. So like I said, we’re just there. “