On January 12, the league and the players’ union announced new health protocols to deal with the outcome of the game. Under the new rules, players and staff were ordered to stay at their homes or hotels while on the road, except for team activities and essential tasks. After a recent game between the Miami Heat and the Nets, a security official interrupted Ketsie Irving’s attempt to exchange jerseys with the Heat’s Bam Adebayo – much to Irving’s surprise. (Irving threw a jersey to Adebayo after their next game two days later.)
Other players also entered the All-Star game. On Friday, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, who was selected to his first All-Star team last season, said: “I feel like for the most part they have done an excellent job of trying to keep us safe,” referring. to the league, “although you can not control everything. But I do understand the concern about it, especially in Atlanta. ”
His teammate Kemba Walker, a four-time All Star, told reporters Friday he agrees with James.
“He’s a smart man,” Walker said. “He was already there. He is a leader. Many things he says are correct. He feels the way he feels. I’m probably going to be on vacation. ”
Earlier in the week, De’Aaron Fox, the top guard at the Sacramento Kings, said it would be ‘stupid’ to hold the game.
“If we have to wear masks and do it all for a regular game, what’s the point of bringing back the All-Star game?” Fox told reporters. “It’s clear that money is turning the world upside down, so that’s what it is.”
Right now, the postponement of the NBA’s virus-related game is dead. The last one was Monday, when the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets would play in Denver. Two days later, the league said in its weekly report that no new players tested positive for the coronavirus. The week before there had been one case, a sharp decline compared to the 27 that had occurred in the past two weeks. In January, several teams were missing several players due to infections and contact detection, but now most teams no longer miss anyone for that reason.
NBA players – like much of the country – are under mental strain, like Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors in a podcast interview posted Friday. He said this season has been particularly difficult with longer days due to daily testing and restrictions in the league’s protocols.