James Harden has arrived in Orlando on Tuesday or five days late from the majority of his Rockets teammates. The MVP guard, however, will not join in Houston's practices immediately due to safety protocols but team coach Mike D'Antoni expects a seamless return to the squad for the NBA superstar.
Harden planed in following the confirmation in the past days that his teammate Russell Westbrook tested positive for COVID-19. Initial reports indicated that the two players will follow their team to Orlando anytime this week but it is believed that Westbrook will be delayed a bit.
ESPN reported that the Rockets have yet to set a definite date for Westbrook's travel to Florida as the shooting guard remains under quarantine. A clearance for him to join Houston will only be provided once he tested negative twice for coronavirus.
The Rockers are also missing forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who was signed as a replacement, in Orlando but it remains unclear why the player has yet to travel to the bubble city. There is no indication from the Houston management that Moute had caught the virus like Westbrook did, which is the same stance the team has taken in the case of Harden.
With or without a word on the health situation of Harden though, he will be confined for a certain period inside his hotel room, as specified in the protocols being implemented by the NBA for the season restart.
Harden will not be allowed outside of his room for 36 hours and before he can practice with the rest of the Rockets, he has to test negative for the virus twice.
D'Antoni seemed aware that Houston will need to resume in the NBA minus Harden and Westbrook but the head coach is quite optimistic about the players' "seamless return" soon. He added that Harden arriving in Orlando is a good start.
"It'll be seamless. We've just got to make sure everybody gets in shape, and everybody's ready to play. But we've had some great practices and [we're] looking forward to getting James in here," NBA.com reported D'Antoni as saying.
The coach is predicting that by next week, Harden is 100% ready for a competitive game. The Rockets are scheduled for a scrimmage with the Toronto Raptors on July 24, and D'Antoni is looking forward to Harden to take part in the game.
However, the Rockets are likely to wait a long time for Westbrook's return and D'Antoni admitted there'll be some plays they will need to leave out for now until the former MVP is ready to play. He said that some of the maneuvers can only play out with a full squad and with both Harden and Westbrook on the floor.
