Rockets guard James Harden should be available to pay Saturday vs. the Trail Blazers, provided he continues to test negative for COVID-19, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Harden was instructed to quarantine four four days, starting Tuesday, “before he can return to practice, games or team activities,” per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. Assuming all goes well, that would make eligible to play after Friday.
An NBA investigation concluded that Harden violated the league’s coronavirus guidelines by attending an indoor party of at least 15 people.
Harden is seeking a trade and also had to undergo a series of tests during the preseason after skipping the early part of training camp.
Along with all that, the season-opener between the Rockets and Thunder scheduled for Wednesday was postponed after eight Houston players were ruled out because of injury or COVID-19 concerns. None were tied to Harden, though.
“Quarantine decisions on other Rockets players remain to be determined,” reported Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “With Harden available, however, the Rockets should have enough players to open their season (Saturday vs. Portland).”
The NBA requires teams to have at least eight players available for games.
