NBA playing in empty arenas because of coronavirus? Heat players react; LeBron says no way
The notion of playing regular-season NBA games in an empty arena - without a single fan - would seem unfathomable.
But that’s no longer out of the question.
As The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Friday night, the NBA “has sent a memo to its franchises explaining that, due to coronavirus outbreak, teams should be preparing to play games without fans in attendance and identifying essential staff present for these games -- should it be necessary.”
The New York Times’ Marc Stein added that “postponing or canceling any game due to the coronavirus is a league office decision but the NBA, sources say, has notified teams to start developing contingency plans in case it were to become necessary to play a game with only essential staff present -- no fans, media, etc.”
Stein said the NBA wants team to prepare, if the situation worsens, for instituting “temperature checks on various players, team staff members, referees and anyone else deemed essential to stage a game in such conditions.”
So what would it be like to play an NBA game without fans?
“It would be boring,” Bam Adebayo said after Friday’s loss in New Orleans. “You won’t feel like a home/away thing. It would just feel like we’re playing at a neutral site. It’s going to be really weird if they do it, really quiet.”
Several Heat players said it would be similar to a pickup game or a practice but unlike anything they’ve experienced.
Heat forward Solomon Hill went a step further, saying “it would definitely be crazy. But you want to make sure everybody is protected. We’ll see if we get to that point. Hope not. Hopefully, the $8.3 billion in medical testing and care can get everything taken care of, to either slow the deaths or stop it.”
Because NBA players rely, to an extent, on crowd noise to generate energy, Hill said, “You would have to come up with rules, [play] some music or fake noise. I’ve never played in a situation like that.”
Jimmy Butler said it would make no difference to him, but Lakers star LeBron James doesn’t like the idea: “I play for the fans. That’s what it’s all about. If I show up to an arena and there ain’t no fans there, I ain’t playing. They can do what they want to do.” And Boston’s Kemba Walker said: “That would be terrible. They might as well cancel the whole game.”
Of the possibility of playing games without fans in attendance, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said Friday night: “It wouldn’t surprise me if that did happen. I think some of the colleges [in lower-level divisions] are already doing it. ... I think it’s one of those situations where we all have to be careful.”
CROWDER OUT
Forward Jae Crowder, who was sidelined in the second half Friday because of a Zion Williamson elbow to his jaw in the second quarter, was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol and ruled out for Sunday’s game at Washington. The Heat said he was feeling better Saturday.
Crowder joins Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard as rotation players who will miss the game. Herro and Leonard have been out since Feb. 4 because of ankle injuries; Herro is nearing a return.
Derrick Jones Jr., who tumbled to the floor late in the game after Hill accidentally hit him in the eye, said he’s fine. He wasn’t listed on the injury report for the Wizards game.
Hill joked that he and Jones are now “even. He came to the bench in the third quarter, hit a game pad and brushed me. We’re even now. But I definitely don’t want to take down teammates.”
▪ Jones said he enjoyed the challenge of defending Williamson despite a 75-pound weight deficit.
“He’s a great player,” Jones said. “I did what I had to do, stay in front of him, make it difficult. He took tough shots and made tough shots, but you live with it.”
Williamson scored 17, below his 24 point per game average.
▪ Spoelstra was pleased with Friday’s performance by Hill, who entered having played just 23 minutes since he was traded to Miami last month but was needed for 15 minutes Friday - including the entire fourth quarter - amid the injury to Crowder.
Hill had five points but also three turnovers.
“He’s really been putting in a ton of time,” Spoelstra said. “You can see how his body has already changed. I had him on my card for literally five games to get him in in the first half. He played well. You can see where he can help us, in many of the areas Jae and Andre [Iguodala] do. He can defend multiple positions, he’s tough and can provide spacing on the other end.”
Hill said: “They’ve done a great job making sure I was ready to go.. My stamina, conditioning have been tremendous.”
▪ Two hours after Robinson set the franchise record for most three pointers in a season, Spoelstra said Friday that Robinson now should be appreciated for more than simply his shooting.
“It’s not just about him hitting threes,” Spoelstra said. “He’s getting much better on the defensive end and really becoming so nuanced off the ball. You talk about the great catch-and-shoot players in this league - the Klay Thompsons, Kyle Korvers, Bradley Beals, the movement off the ball - Duncan is becoming every bit of that kind of threat. He has really helped expand our offense.”
▪ Adebayo was flattered to be approached by several of the game’s greats during All-Star weekend. There was one particularly memorable exchange with Allen Iverson, when the 11-time All Star praised him for his growth and offered advice.
“I had never talked to A.I.,” Adebayo said. “The only time I has seen A.I. was at our games. When I was walking out after halftime [at the All Star Game], he came up to me. I thought he was walking to see somebody else. He approached me, gave me some advice, told me to keep doing what I’m doing. It was pretty much about basketball, a little bit about life.”
And Adebayo made sure to tell TNT’s Charles Barkley he appreciated his support.
“I always credit Charles Barkley because he’s been putting that battery in my bag before anybody was thinking about me being an All Star,” Adebayo said. “He was the first person to go publicly and say I should be an All-Star.”
Here are lots of nuggets and reaction from Friday’s Heat game in New Orleans. And please check back for more Heat later today.
Here’s my Friday piece on the Dolphins’ visit to Auburn.
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 9:26 AM.
