Stars John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are expected to miss the Rockets’ season opener against the Thunder on Wednesday due to COVID-19 contact tracing, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Charania reports Houston could possibly be without more players as a result of the contact tracing. Depending on how many players are out, it could limit the Rockets’ bench.
The news comes as the Rockets were looking to move past their tumultuous offseason in the new 2020-21 season.
However, James Harden’s status for the game is up in the air while the team is working with the NBA office to review a video of him at a recent Christmas party held at a club. The date of the video, which circulated on social media via Black Sports Online earlier this week, is unconfirmed. If it is deemed to be recent, it could put the Rockets star in violation of the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
Harden responded to the report on Wednesday afternoon.
“One thing after another. I went to show love to my homegirl at her event (not a strip club) because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in position of success and now it’s a problem [sic],” he wrote online. “No matter how many times people try to drag my name under you can’t.”
As noted in the league’s health and safety protocols, a failure to comply with protocols could result in individual disciplinary action by the NBA or team and could result in a warning, fine and/or suspension.
