LATIMES.COM/SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020D3
The imagi-
nary barrier
that sepa-
rates the
Lakers from
the people
who admire
them has
been breach-
ed. LeBron
James will be tested for the
coronavirus on Wednesday
as will Anthony Davis and
every other player in Los
Angeles’ signature sports
franchise.
The gravity of the pan-
demic had started to set in
over the previous few days
as emergencies were de-
clared, schools were closed
and stores ran out of toilet
paper.
Now this.
The medical experts
were right. The disease
spreads easily and doesn’t
discriminate.
Like millions of other
Americans, the Lakers
might have been exposed to
the virus at work, specif-
ically in their last game
before the NBA suspended
its season.
Four players on the
Brooklyn Nets tested pos-
itive for the coronavirus,
including sidelined super-
star Kevin Durant, who was
part of the team’s traveling
party to Staples Center.
“Given the exposure
risks from our game against
the Nets on March 10th, we
are following the next steps
of our COVID-19 procedures
and protocol that are estab-
lished in consultation with
various health officials, the
NBA and our UCLA Health
doctors,” the Lakers said in
a statement.
The number of con-
firmed cases leaguewide is
up to seven. There will be
more.
Imagine if games had
been played for even a cou-
ple of more days. Or worse, if
they were still being played.
In retrospect, the NBA
was incredibly fortunate
that Utah Jazz center Rudy
Gobert tested positive for
the virus when he did. The
country was too.
In a time and place in
which response to a medical
crisis was slowed by the
politicization of the health-
care system, Gobert was a
savior. His now-infamous
touching of microphones
made him a mockery, but
his infection marked a turn-
ing point in how the pan-
demic was treated.
Medical experts had
warned of how contagious
the virus was and how it
could spread. But the NBA
and other sports leagues
attempted to balance their
social responsibilities with
their primary purpose of
generating revenue. When
San Francisco banned
gatherings of 1,000 or more
people, the Golden State
Warriors announced they
would play in an empty
arena.
Gobert’s positive test on
March 11 prevented the
bizarre game from taking
place.
The NBA shut down. Theother professional sports
leagues in this country did
the same. Even the reac-
tionary NCAA scrapped its
men’s and women’s national
basketball tournaments,
with President Mark Em-
mert calling Gobert’s diag-
nosis “an exclamation
point.”
“It was like, ‘Yeah, this is
real,’ ” Emmert told ESPN.
Talk about dumb luck.
Gobert’s teammate,
Donovan Mitchell, also
tested positive for the co-
ronavirus in the days that
followed. So did Christian
Wood of the Detroit Pistons,
who was matched up with
Gobert on March 7. A Rhode
Island child who received an
autograph from Gobert in
Boston on March 6 also
came down with the virus.
After their game against
Pistons, the Jazz played theToronto Raptors and
warmed up on the same
court as the Oklahoma City
Thunder for a contest that
was postponed at the last
minute. The Pistons went
on to visit the New York
Knicks and Philadelphia
76ers.
The Nets hadn’t played
either the Jazz or Pistons in
some time. The last time
they played the Jazz was on
Jan. 14. Their most recent
game against the Pistons
was on Jan. 29.
Who knows how many
times the four infected Nets
players shook hands or
embraced players on other
teams while they carried the
virus. And who knows how
many more times they
would have done that if
Gobert’s condition hadn’t
interrupted the season.
If something positive has
come out of this, it’s that the
public has gained a greater
understanding of how
quickly the disease can
spread. In a country in
which right-wing politicians
attack science and students
routinely test poorly in the
subject, the value of this
can’t be understated. Too
many Americans have dis-
missed the coronavirus as a
problem for old people and
old people only, failing to
comprehend the damage
that can be inflicted simply
by carrying the virus.
Ignoring the coronavirus
isn’t an option anymore.
Even escapist activities
such as basketball can’t
provide an escape from the
pandemic.Lakers’ plight shows
that everyone is at risk
DYLAN HERNÁNDEZ
UTAHcenter Rudy Gob-
ert’s infection marked a
turning point in how
pandemic was treated.George FreyGetty Imagessuspended operations. Lak-
ers coach Frank Vogel and
vice president of basketball
operations Rob Pelinka have
had regular conference calls,
typically one in the morning
and one in the afternoon.
“Given the exposure risks
from our game against the
Nets on March 10th, we are fol-
lowing the next steps of our
COVID-19 procedures and
protocol that are established
in consultation with various
health officials, the NBA and
our UCLA Health doctors,”
the Lakers said in a state-
ment.
The NBA’s Board of Gov-
ernors has also been in fre-
quent communication, in-
cluding a Tuesday afternoon
conference call during which
former surgeon general Vivek
Murthy spoke to franchise
leaders about the severity of
the outbreak and the benefits
of social distancing.
Starting this week, Lakers
players were allowed to leave
the Los Angeles area but
asked to check in with team
medical personnel every day.
They also were told not to
work out anywhere other
than the Lakers’ team facility
or in their homes for the time
being.
Because of a shortage of
tests in California, public
health officials are refusing to
test people who have no
symptoms. Private health
clinics are not under such re-
strictions, but they are en-
couraged to prioritize people
who are ill. While there have
been instances of NBA teams
having access to testing for
players who have not shown
symptoms, a shortage of test-
ing kits also has prevented
members of the Sacramento
Kings and Golden State War-
riors from testing all of their
players.
“It is frustrating, but it is
the reality,” Warriors coach
Steve Kerr said during a con-
ference call. “We’re in the
same boat as everybody. It’s
very difficult to find a test in
California and many places,
so if any of our players do
come down sick or any of our
employees, we’ll [do] our best
to get a test, but there’s defi-
nitely frustration that we
don’t all have access to them,
but there’s nothing we can do
about it. So we just have to fol-low the advice of the medical
experts and our local officials
and leaders and do our best.”
NBA spokesman Mike
Bass said in a statement that
public health authorities and
team doctors have been con-
cerned that players’ frequent
travel and interactions with
the public could “accelerate
the spread of the virus.”
Some teams are in areas
where access to testing
comes, in part, through their
connection with healthcare
providers. The Oklahoma
City Thunder and Jazz wereall tested after Gobert’s pos-
itive test, with only Utah
guard Donovan Mitchell
known to have tested pos-
itive. Mitchell did not have
symptoms. The Nets and To-
ronto Raptors also tested
their teams, with Toronto re-
porting no positive tests. One
member of the Detroit Pis-
tons, Christian Wood, tested
positive for the virus after de-
veloping flu-like symptoms,
which led to the rest of the or-
ganization practicing self-iso-
lation.
“Hopefully, by these play-
ers choosing to make their
test results public, they have
drawn attention to the critical
need for young people to fol-
low CDC recommendations
in order to protect others,
particularly those with
underlying health conditions
and the elderly,” Bass said in a
statement.
Until Tuesday, the Lakers
were allowed to use their facil-
ity for individual workouts.
Other players could be in the
building as long as they used
different courts. Only a mem-
ber of the coaching staff could
be present to help each play-
er. It was under those circum-
stances that James and his
sons visited the team facility
over the weekend.
James watched with pride
as 12-year-old Bryce bounced
the ball off the backboard to
15-year-old Bronny, who fin-
ished the play with a dunk.
Moments later, Bryce at-
tempted a sky hook, prompt-
ing James to shout, “Ey, Ka-
reem!” not far from a wall af-
fixed with Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar’s retired jersey num-
ber.
They won’t be back for at
least two weeks — one of the
only things certain in an un-
certain time.Lakers are asked to self-quarantine
[Lakers,from D1]
INJURED STARKevin Durant and three other Nets
players have tested positive for the coronavirus.Al BelloGetty ImagesThe Clippers made NBA
history March 9. It just took
a while to realize.
The 10-day contract the
team and backup center Jo-
akim Noah finalized that
day? With the NBA season
suspended and a moratori-
um on all roster activity
freezing contracts across
league through at least April
10, it’s suddenly on track to
become the longest of its
kind ever signed.
It is, of course, only a
small example of the co-
ronavirus pandemic moving
the NBA season into un-
charted territory.
The uncertainty is unset-
tling for the Clippers, given
they began the season in an
unfamiliar position: a favor-
ite to win the NBA title. At
few points in the franchise’s
50-year history has it been a
credible championship con-
tender, and in recent weeks,
as the health of an injury-rid-
dled roster allowed it to play
together for its longest
stretch, they had offered
their most forceful justifica-
tion for those champi-
onship-level projections —
only to have the season
abruptly put on pause.
They are 10-1 when
playing with no injuries to
report and have won seven of
their last eight games overall
to move into second place in
the Western Conference.
The only loss in either cate-
gory came against the con-
ference-leading Lakers.
Since the league’s All-
Star break, the Clippers own
the NBA’s second-best of-
fensive rating (117.3 points
per 100 possessions) and
fifth-best defensive rating
(105.8 points given up per 100
possessions). No other team
ranked in the top five in both
categories. The Clippers
grabbed the fourth-highest
percentage of rebounds and
committed the eighth-low-
est percentage of turnovers
since the mid-February
break.
Their last game was a 24-
point victory over Golden
State on March 10 that
moved Doc Rivers into a tie
with Red Auerbach for 11th
place on the all-time NBA
coaching list. Rivers, after-
ward, called himself lucky to
have coached “great guys”
over 21 seasons.
“You rush to work,” he
said.
Rivers is still permitted
to go to work, but he won’t be
around his full team for the
foreseeable future. NBA
players are allowed to work
out at their team facility but
only on an individual basis,
which raises the question of
how any team hopes to
maintain its continuity, let
alone one such as the Clip-
pers, who seemingly just
captured theirs after using a
league-high 29 starting line-
ups.
Forward Paul George is
one example of a player be-
ginning to regain his stride
— coming off his latest ham-string injury, his minute re-
strictions had recently been
raised from 24 per game to 30
— who must now maintain
his form during a break of
unknown weeks, or months.
“The longer I can be out
there,” George said March
10, “the better it is for rhythm
and timing and racking up
minutes with those going
down the stretch.”
Yet, social-distancing
recommendations issued by
local and federal officials
mean this isn’t like any pre-
vious break, where players
stayed sharp in high-level
pickup games.
However, should games
resume, the Clippers (44-20)
might consider the rest
worth the rust. There is am-
ple time for backup point
guard Reggie Jackson and
Noah, the most recent addi-
tions, to digest the playbook
and for coaches to consider
their best lineups. The same
team that had sought to
lighten key players’ work-
loads in anticipation of a
lengthy postseason now has
a much smaller load to man-
age.
That could recharge vet-
erans such as All-Star for-
ward Kawhi Leonard, who
popularized the load-man-
agement strategy last sea-
son while winning a champi-
onship with Toronto;
George, who had suffered
several hamstring injuries
since Jan. 1; guard Patrick
Beverley, who sat out 16
games because of injuries;
and reserve Lou Williams,
whose 29 minutes per game
this season is the third-high-
est average of his 15-season
career.
Even backup center
Montrezl Harrell, only 26
and known for his energy,
could seemingly benefit
from the break after averag-
ing a career-high 27.8 min-
utes per game and playing
the entire fourth quarter 26
times this season.
But the time away will be
tricky, as players learn to ad-
just old routines in the face
of new precautions.
“We’re always together,”
Williams said last month,
describing how players
would often eat with their
families after games before
reconnecting with team-
mates later the same night.
“Our families are always to-
gether, especially Pat and
[Harrell]. We’re just a tight
group.”
The day after signing
with the Clippers, Noah
looked as if he’d been part of
the group for longer than 24
hours. After finishing his
pregame workout in San
Francisco, he and 22-year-
old starting center Ivica
Zubac began an extended
conversation in courtside
seats.
“Zub should ask him ev-
ery question, every day,
about everything,” Rivers
said. “The guy has been
through it all.”
Just nothing like this. No
one has. If those conversa-
tions continue, they will hap-
pen by phone.PAUL GEORGE, driving against Boston’s Jayson
Tatum, and the Clippers had been on a roll.Maddie MeyerGetty ImagesANALYSISCan Clippers
contend if
play resumes?
By Andrew GreifA player on the Ottawa
Senators has tested positive
for the coronavirus, the club
said in a statement late Tues-
day, the first NHL player
known to have tested positive
for the virus. The Senators did
not identify the player.
The Senators played the
Ducks on March 10 at Honda
Center in Anaheim and
played the Kings the next
night at Staples Center.
“The player has had mild
symptoms and is in isolation,”
the Senators’ statement said.
“The Ottawa Senators are in
the process of notifying any-
one who has had known close
contact with the athlete and
are working with our team
doctors and public health offi-
cials. As a result of this pos-
itive case, all members of the
Ottawa Senators are re-
quested to remain isolated, to
monitor their health and seek
advice from our team medical
staff.”
The Senators played the
Kings a day after the Lakers
faced the Brooklyn Nets, who
on Tuesday confirmed that
four of their players had
tested positive for the virus.
The Nets used Staples Cen-
ter’s visiting NBA locker
room, which was used by the
Kings last Wednesday to hold
postgame news conferences.
Mike Altieri, senior vice
president of marketing, com-
munications and content for
AEG Sports and the Kings,said the Kings will contact
team, staff or media members
who were in close proximity to
the Nets’ locker room March
10, “and ensure that they
closely monitor how they feel
in the coming days.” He also
said no one in the Kings’ or-
ganization had come forward
with symptoms resembling
those consistent with the co-
ronavirus.
Elliotte Friedman of
“Hockey Night in Canada”
was the first to report the
player’s positive test.
The NHL put its season on
hold Thursday. Commis-
sioner Gary Bettman has said
he had hoped his league could
continue competition and
that NHL had made plans for
games to be staged without
spectators, but news that
Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz
had tested positive — and the
move by the NBA to suspendits season last Wednesday —
left Bettman no choice but to
“pause” the NHL season.
Bettman said because
many NHL and NBA teams
share arenas he believed it
was inevitable that an NHL
player would test positive if
play continued. The NHL has
told players to self-quarantine
at least through March 27 and
to report any symptoms to
club medical personnel. Play-
ers are not permitted to work
out in club facilities.
Bettman said Friday he
was hopeful the league could
“complete the season and
get through the playoffs and
award the Stanley Cup,” and
on Monday the league out-
lined a possible opening of
training camps in late April
with play to begin in early
May. Tuesday’s news prob-
ably would delay that time-
table.Senators player first in NHL to test positive
Ottawa played Kings
and Ducks last week
and used Nets’ locker
room at Staples.
By Helene Elliott