The Utah Jazz will have to go through a quarantine period in Oklahoma after the cancellation of the NBA game against the Thunder due to coronavirus.
Jazz Jazz pvot Rudy Gobert defends Marcus Smart from Celtics
The fear of coronavirus has forced to cancel the remainder of the NBA season. The American Basketball League Commissioner Adam Silver made the decision after a Utah Jazz player, French pivot Rudy Gobert, tested positive for the virus.
His team was about to play a match on the court Oklahoma City Thunder, with the stands crowded with fans, when the determination was made to cancel the game. The players of both teams, amid an atmosphere of confusion and surprise, were sent return to the locker room and the public informed of the cancellation of the party. Minutes later, ESPN journalist Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed that the competition was suspended indefinitely.
According to the NBA, this period will be used to study “the next steps to advance with regard to the coronavirus pandemic”, with the conviction that this championship will resume in the coming weeks among many of the players.
Wojnarowski also confirmed that Utah Jazz must remain in quarantine in Oklahoma Over the next few weeks, a situation that could also affect Thunder players. “With two teams in quarantine it was impossible to continue the competition,” said the ESPN journalist, one of the most authoritative voices in the NBA world.
The cancellation caused surprise among owners, coaches and players of the world's largest basketball league. But there were no complaints. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, gave a press conference after the end of the game between his team and the Denver Nuggets, the last game that could be played after the announcement of the suspension.
“I think the NBA has made the right decision,” said the Texas-based businessman. “This is much bigger than basketball. I am thinking of my children and my 82-year-old mother. It seems like something out of a movie. “Despite the cancellation of the matches, Cuban assured that the training will continue.
Cuban insisted that the pandemic is something that must be taken seriously and stated that they will work with the health authorities to ensure that no one is affected in the team. The one who seemed to be joking a few hours earlier was Gobert himself. French images have already begun to circulate, playing all the microphones and recorders at the end of a press conference last Monday, in mockery of the spread of the virus that has tested positive.
The cancellation of the rest of the season will considerable economic impact. Although there are no official figures, Forbes magazine estimates that the NBA generates $ 8 billion each year. The regular season still had a month to go before the playoffs, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks leading the table in their respective conferences.
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