Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Well, it happened.
The league announced last night that “The NBA is suspending gameplay following the conclusion of [Wednesday’s] schedule of games until further notice.” This came after news that Rudy Gobert, Center for the Utah Jazz had tested positive for COVID-19. And while it really is a bummer that we will not have basketball for the foreseeable future, the precaution by the league is warranted.
I know how jarring this all seems.
But in a time of extraordinary confusion and not nearly enough information, this is the smart call, and the right call.
It is not an over reaction, it's the only reaction.
We'll come back smarter and likely safer.
Because we always have. https://t.co/oNokHd2CSd
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 12, 2020
But with that being said, what happens to the Celtics, who have played the Jazz twice in the last two weeks?
There was increased worry around the Celtics and among some TD Garden workers because the club had hosted the Jazz there last Friday. (The Celts also played the Jazz in Salt Lake City on February 26.) Those coronavirus concerns were then supported by an ESPN report that teams that have played Utah in the past 10 days have been told to self-quarantine.
Meanwhile, the Celtics were in limbo here in the hours after the suspension of games was announced. They were preparing to play the first place Bucks in a nationally televised game Thursday, but they were left trying to find out when charter flight arrangements could be made to get them home.
“I think the whole is pretty insane how it unraveled so fast,” Gordon Hayward told the Herald. “Like, we were just at dinner talking about how we were going to play the Bucks and everything, and then all of a sudden it’s like, boom, the season’s suspended.
“So it’s just in a matter of hours we go from watching film on the Bucks and then now we’re worried about how we’re going to get home — if we’re going to get home.”
The Celtics are in touch with NBA officials and will comply with any protocols the league sees fit in response to their recent encounter with the Jazz.
In the Feb. 26 game in Utah, Gobert was photographed shaking hands with Celtics center Vincent Poirier, who, like Gobert, is from France.
The Celtics assigned Poirier to their G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, on March 6, eight days after that Feb. 26 game in Utah.
Emerson College school president M. Lee Pelton said late Wednesday that Gobert and the Jazz had practiced at the school’s gym in Boston prior to the March 6 game against the Celtics. Pelton said the school has reached out to the Boston Public Health Commission for assistance. It’s uncertain if he or the team came in contact with students. NBA teams typically work out at Emerson or other local schools on the day of a game at TD Garden.
The good news is, as of Tuesday night, no Celtics player had any symptoms of the virus. At this point, all we can do is speculate as to when the NBA will resume. It is entirely possible the rest of the season will be canceled. Until then, all we can do is wait, wash our hands, and hope that these precautions allow the virus to dissipate so we can get back to basketball.
Many players have taken to social media to encourage followers to comply with sanitary best practices and to be aware of any signs of early infection, specifically Jaylen Brown.
Earlier tonight, before the NBA announced the season was supsended, Jaylen Brown went on IG live to talk about coronavirus: “This is urgent. The way they stop viruses is by shutting things down.” pic.twitter.com/0rm2Y7UxzC
— Nicole Yang (@nicolecyang) March 12, 2020
Please, be smarter than Gobert.
Video shows Rudy Gobert, an NBA player who reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, touching microphones with his hands after speaking with reporters on Monday https://t.co/ekxauQo8KV pic.twitter.com/pd7Q9vJkCz
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 12, 2020
THE REST OF THE LINKS:
MassLive: What they’re saying nationally after NBA suspends season due to coronavirus concerns
NBCSN: Jackie MacMullan: Rudy Gobert testing positive for coronavirus ‘worst-case scenario for NBA’| Mannix: ‘Not a lot of optimism that NBA season will resume’
Globe – The Celtics played the Jazz days before Gobert was diagnosed. What’s next?
BSJ: One tweak the Celtics should make with Marcus Smart
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