Most expected Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant to end up as one of the pivotal storylines from their primetime matchup against the Toronto Raptors, but the main takeaway from Toronto’s 123-117 win was the fact that the NBA has no idea what it is doing with regards to their COVID-19 protocols.
It appeared as if Durant was not going to be able to play due to the league’s COVID-19 safety protocols, as he returned an inconclusive test after several straight negative tests. The league even deciding to continue the game with a potential COVID-positive player on the court was controversial enough, but they soon let Durant back into the game.
Before the end of the third quarter, the league reversed course again, forcing Durant out of the game. Durant has already been ruled unable to travel with the Nets as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers.
Kevin Durant is out for the remainder of the game due to health and safety protocols. After missing the beginning of the game and subsequently being cleared to play, Durant is unable to play at the direction of the league, a source told ESPN.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) February 6, 2021
Letting Kevin Durant play in Raptors-Nets was an awful decision by the NBA
The league has decided that if a player tests positive, or they have been deemed a close contact to someone who tested positive they need to sit out. That’s fine. However, if those are the rules, why let him back in the game?
In doing so, the league let a player that could potentially transmit the virus around several players on both teams, unmasked and constantly initiating physical contact. After Adam Silver’s exemplary virus-control system in the Disney bubble, the league seems to be making up new rules as they go along.
Yo @nba, your fans aren’t dumb!!!! You can’t fool em with your Wack ass PR tactics.. #FREE7 https://t.co/78N1iKFAoc
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 6, 2021
Not only can a positive test bring about adverse effects for the infected, but the close-knit environment that is an NBA locker room and court on any given game day is the very definition of a super-spreader event. We’re almost a full year into this pandemic, and the league’s motor skills completely shut down whenever they get an inconclusive test.
The best move would’ve been either postponing the game or not letting Durant back into the game. The league failed to make the right move on both accounts showing that getting an entertaining product on the court was more important than being worried about the health of the players, coaches, and staff at the game.
Any attempt by the league to claim that they’re abundantly cautious rings hollow now that this game was played. Fans understand the fact we’re in a pandemic. Their initial disappointment would be nothing compared to the firestorm of negativity Silver unleashed on the league. Hopefully, this mess shows the NBA that they need to get their act together on this end.
Raptors fans can’t even fully enjoy the dominant win in which Pascal Siakam looked like an All-Star and Kyle Lowry had arguably his best performance of the year, as the lingering uncertainty of COVID-19 is looming over this game.
Raptors fans just need to cross their fingers and hope that no infections spring up as a result of this, as their own league put both teams in some very hot water through no fault of Toronto or Brooklyn.