Charlotte Hornets’ COVID reality: Lots of nose swabs, little bonding time for players
The Charlotte Hornets didn’t experience bubble life in the NBA restart.
Now, they’re in nose-swab life.
“We get tested twice a day — nasal, mouth swab, everything. I feel like it’s pretty safe,” Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels said of the protocols during training camp regarding COVID-19.
The Hornets lost a player to a positive coronavirus test before practices began Friday. Guard Malik Monk hasn’t shown symptoms, according to coach James Borrego, but Monk’s positive test will keep him out several more days.
In order to complete last season, the NBA created a massive bubble — sequestering hundreds of players and other team personnel — at Disney’s campus outside Orlando, Fla. The Hornets weren’t one of the 22 teams that were invited to that restart that eventually crowned the Los Angeles Lakers champions.
The Hornets and the other seven teams not part of it were allowed to hold two-week mini-camps in late October and early November, with each team creating a “mini-bubble;” players and staff were housed away from the general public during these practices.
NBA players are no longer separated from the public — they go home after practice each day — but there are dozens of pages of protocols to prepare for the regular season. The NBA will now face challenges similar to that of the NFL and MLB, including the possibility of postponed or canceled games.
Already, the Portland Trail Blazers shut down their training facility before their first practice in response to three positive tests in four days. Nationwide, there is a spike in the pandemic, with more than 100,000 hospitalizations reported.
Health vigilance
Hornets coach James Borrego says he’s prioritizing the players’ health, even as he works to accelerate the synergy of a group with several important new pieces. The Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball No. 3 overall, then added Gordon Hayward, one of the top players in the 2020 free agent class.
When the Hornets open the season Dec. 23 in Cleveland, they will have gone more than nine months without a regular-season game. When Borrego mentions health-conscious, he means both the organization guarding against the virus and the coaches making sure they don’t rush players physically after months of relative inactivity.
“If our guys aren’t healthy, either because of the virus or because they’re injured, it’s going to set us back, three-fold,” Borrego said. “Our guys have bought into that — staying healthy, virus-free. And I’ve got to work through their (conditioning) — that we’re not doing too much. Our performance team is leading the charge in that area.”
The Hornets have been forward-thinking about health since general manager Mitch Kupchak took over in the spring of 2018. He brought back Joe Sharpe, who previously worked in Charlotte (2004-08) for four seasons, as director of healthcare and sports performance. The Hornets increased training staff, particularly in the field of preventive medicine.
Borrego said the “mini-bubble” was helpful in giving players and staff a taste of how different pro sports must be in the pandemic.
“We were testing in the bubble, we were disrupted in our everyday lives as basketball players and basketball coaches,” Borrego said. “It allowed (the medical and performance staff) to sort of test-run how this would look and run.”
Hornets personnel are tested for COVID-19 prior to daily entry into the basketball spaces at Spectrum Center. They are swabbed for a rapid test and they’re not allowed into the rest of the building until that test returns negative. Additionally, players and staff have samples collected that are mailed out daily for lab-based testing.
Players can’t congregate in a single locker room at Spectrum Center, as they’re used to doing. That’s good for infection control, but not optimal for team chemistry.
“Bonding time is the last thing that we’re allowed to do right now,” center Cody Zeller said.
Protocols aplenty
The NBA distributed a 158-page memo of health and safety protocols, as the 30 teams prepare for a 72-game regular season (10 games shorter than usual). While the league made some adjustment to the schedule (the Hornets play five sets of games against the same opponent in the same city to cut down on travel), this is still a marathon of charter flights and hotel rooms.
“We’ve talked a lot within our team. A lot (of the impact) will be how many guys are healthy each night. We’re bound to have a guy or two out throughout the season,” Zeller said.
“Everyone has to kind of stay at home and be responsible. Do their part and wear a mask. We’re planning for a couple of bumps in the road.”
The NBA wants players out of bars and clubs. There is discipline established — including possible in-season quarantine with loss of pay — for irresponsible behavior that could spread infection. Also, the league might conduct “unannounced in-person inspections” of team facilities to review compliance with protocols.
Outside that Disney bubble, the NBA must trust players and coaches to be on an honor system of sorts. Hornets guard Terry Rozier said that after so much inactivity, that’s not an unreasonable ask.
“The season is finally here. This off season has been weird. It’s been crazy,” Rozier said. “We will make the best of it. We are professionals.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets’ COVID reality: Lots of nose swabs, little bonding time for players."
