NBA teams close facilities ahead of Orlando comeback

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On July 7 to 9, NBA teams are set to fly to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando for the association’s comeback. Should players miss the mandatory testing for COVID-19, they will be forbidden to travel with their teams, and must arrange flights and drives for themselves to Orlando.

The Milwaukee Bucks reportedly shut down their training facility prior the scheduled fly out to Orlando after a round of COVID-19 tests taken Friday, July 3rd, came back with an undisclosed number of positive results. Vijaya Prakash Boggala says other teams like Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and Brooklyn Nets have closed down their training facilities following a series of positive results for the virus.

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Prior to playing in Orlando, a player must test negative twice before receiving a go signal from medical authorities, a provision stipulated in the league’s health and safety guidelines. Players who will fly or drive out privately to Orlando will have to test negative twice before heading to Walt Disney World Resort. Should they hop onto commercial flights, players are required to have a record of three consecutive negative COVID-19 test results to make it to the games, mentions Vijaya Prakash Boggala.

While entering the NBA “bubble” in Orlando requires a long list of health and safety precautions, the comeback is not regarded as a premature move for the league as strict protocols are being observed. In addition, autonomous decisions regarding training, testing, and self-isolation carried out by teams ensure the safety of players and other NBA officials.

Vijaya Prakash Boggala loves watching live sports like basketball, tennis, and cricket during his spare time. For more updates from Vijaya Prakash Boggala, click here.

How the NBA helps its community during a health crisis

NBA was among the first sports associations to cancel its season due to COVID-19. The league’s announcement regarding the season’s suspension was followed by questions about the welfare of stadium workers and team staff who are usually paid by the hour.

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Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner, led the movement to support stadium workers who will lose their hourly income as a result of the suspension. Following Cuban’s statement, other teams announced their plans to assist their workers as well. Vijaya Prakash Boggala mentions that Cuban’s program to provide for their stadium workers financially inspired other sports associations to follow suit.

According to sports and communications analysts, the NBA is in the position to help and speak out for others, something team owners and players have acknowledged and embodied throughout the years. On top of having programs in place for non-salaried arena workers, NBA and Major League Baseball teams pledged donations to local food banks, emergency food services, disaster relief operations, food banks, hospitals, and other medical institutions. NBA player Jeremy Lin donated $150,000 to UNICEF to aid in the fight against COVID-19, shares Vijaya Prakash Boggala.

Rudy Gobert, the first player in the NBA to test positive for COVID-19, pledged to donate $500,000 to different causes; $200,000 will go to game-day employees, $100,000 to families in Oklahoma affected by the virus, $100,000 to families in Utah for the same reason, and 100,000 euros to France, his native country. Reported or unreported, many NBA stars are helping their communities, and the nation fight COVID-19 in their own ways.

Vijaya Prakash Boggala writes medical abstracts. He also enjoys watching live sports like basketball, tennis, and cricket. Visit this blog for more updates.

Chaotic way to the Semis: Fierce Spurs Succumb to the Mighty Thunder

One of the more exciting matches in the NBA Playoffs to date are between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The teams are among those with the strongest fan base in the entire top-tier basketball league, resulting in an understandably massive rivalry. In the end, however, the mighty Thunder successfully amassed all the marbles against the fierce Spurs at the semi-finals.

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During game 1, Spurs seemed to be going to get by without a hitch in the series. Then came game 2 when an offensive foul call was nowhere to be found against Thunder’s Dion Waiters when he was inbounding the ball with Manu Ginobili defending with seconds left on the clock and the Thunder up by 1.

Waiters gave Ginobili an elbow shove with the ball still in his hand. However, despite the no-call, the Spurs still had a chance to win as they were able to steal the inbound and gain possession of the ball when Waiters threw the ball away and was taken by Danny Green. The ball then made its way to Patty Mills for an open look in the 3-point line, but he was not able to finish. There was then a scramble for the ball as the last few seconds of regulation ticked away and the game ending with the Thunder winning. Everybody was convinced after that that the refs stole a win from the Spurs.

Game 3, 4, and 5 of the series were especially close as well. Game 3 went to the Spurs while games 4 and 5 went to the Thunder. Each of the games has since ended with the audience crying foul over the referees’ calls or non-calls. However, in game 6, the Spurs just couldn’t get into their groove and was therefore defeated by the Thunder 4 wins to 2.

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Medical abstracts writer Vijaya Prakash Boggala enjoys watching live sports such as basketball, tennis, and cricket. Get to know him more through LinkedIn.