In an NBA season in which mental toughness and adaptability have been tested on a regular basis, of course Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta wasn’t going to offer up any sort of reprieve for the players.
In the morning, there was concern that 76ers All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons had contact with a barber in Philadelphia who tested positive for the coronavirus.
By the early afternoon, the two players were ruled out.
Happy All-Star Weekend.
“Yeah it’s just extremely unfortunate,’’ Bulls guard Zach LaVine said of the news. “And from what I’ve heard they did everything right. I think they had close contact with their barber and the barber was getting tested daily. And they just, he popped up as a positive. It’s not like they were trying to hide it or they’re doing something wrong. They did everything right and they still got at the wrong place at the wrong time, so extremely unfortunate. It’s sad, but I think this is just the time that we live in right now, you just can’t be too safe.’’
LaVine and his organization know that all too well, with the Bulls having several coronavirus scares this season. Garrett Temple, Chandler Hutchison and Tomas Satoransky have each tested positive, while the likes of Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono have been in the protocol because of contact tracing.
And while several high-profile players had spoken out about trying to pull off this year’s All-Star Game – even if it was reduced from a weekend extravaganza full of parties and appearances to just a one-day event – LaVine was still glad he made the trip.
“I mean you understand it man, especially with everything that’s going on right now, you still got to be able to make some stuff back,’’ LaVine said, when asked if he stood behind the league going forward with the event. “As long as it’s safe, I’m ok with it. I don’t think the NBA would be trying to put you into harm’s way. We’re already playing games right now anyway. So it’s pretty much just like another day. This has always been one of my goals and I’ve always wanted to play in an All-Star game so it was an easy decision for me.’’
In fact, LaVine and the rest of the All-Stars maybe the safest in the Association heading into the start of the second half.
They were tested upon arrival on Saturday, and again Sunday, while the rest of the league was scattered all over the place with no travel restrictions.
And while this year’s All-Star Game wasn’t the ideal experience for LaVine socially, especially considering he’s been involved in the All-Star Weekend numerous times in his career, he didn’t get caught up in that. Yes, this was his first time playing in the actual All-Star Game, but not his last in his eyes.
“I think you know my mentality,’’ LaVine said. “This isn’t just a pit stop for me, this is something I want to continue happening. I have bigger and bigger goals I want to continue to go for, team and individual. But this is like an anomaly year. Not just for All-Star but for NBA players in general. There hasn’t been a year like this before and there’s not going to be a year like this after this, I don’t think, either. You’re looking at a rare instance in NBA history of this season we’ve been dealing with.’’
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March 08, 2021 at 02:06AM
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