Rockets Jeff Van Gundy doesn’t believe NBA return is best idea

Possibility of someone getting infected

One thing that’s become accepted across all sports is that someone is going to get infected, without a doubt. The virus essentially controls everything right now, and the virus is still out there.

There’s no vaccine for it and doctors have even warned of a second wave potentially surfacing in the fall, which is a harsh reality. It’s also proof that even as we go about our lives seeking to resume to a semblance of normalcy, the virus isn’t gone.

The former Houston Rockets coach expressed his concern over the likelihood that potential players will continue to be affected by the COVID-19 and warns about the risks.

“Well I think everyone is going to have to assume some level of acceptable risk, to them. Everywhere from NBA office all the way down to the teams. Because there’s no doubt that when we play again, if it’s this year, it’s going to start without fans.

And it’s also without question that when it starts back up, somebody from some team is going to get infected. And I heard that Adam Silver said that if that happens and we’re going to lose our stomach for playing because somebody gets the virus, then we shouldn’t really restart at all. So they’ve got to figure out how they’re going to deal with that.”

There’s been speculation that the NBA will simply decide to quarantine a player for 14 days if they do in fact test positive, which makes sense considering that’s the general amount of time we’ve heard it takes for the symptoms go away. But this could have a major effect on a postseason series, if the NBA resumes operations in the postseason.

What happens if a star player is forced to sit out 14 days in a postseason series? Obviously that would seem to hurt that team’s chances of making it to the next round. Granted, health is more important than any of this, but it’s important to note considering all of the asterisk talk. If a team like the Houston Rockets wins the NBA title and they face a team along the way that was forced to play without one of its star players, will people view that as a legitimate title?

Obviously these are all things that have to get figured out, and it’s likely why we’ve yet to hear any type of solidified plans. Although it may not be what we want to hear, it’s difficult to blame Van Gundy for erring on the side of caution.