Orlando (United States) (AFP)
Miami star Jimmy Butler, who did not take part in his team's Sunday training in the Disney World bubble, is currently in quarantine, one of his teammates has suggested.
The Heat did not give an explanation for the absence of Butler during this session scheduled the day after his convincing victory against Denver (125-105), during which the winger scored 22 points in 30 minutes.
"I have no update to make on this," coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters on the eve of facing the Toronto Raptors.
On the other hand his interior Jae Crowder mentioned the word "quarantine", suggesting that this absence could be linked to the coronavirus.
"We want to talk to him as soon as he's released from quarantine or whatever he's been in," he said. "We have to deal with the current situation, replace him and stay focused, because we know he will be ready to play as soon as he can find us."
"It is obviously an unexpected event for all of us to learn such a thing. You never know what to expect," he added.
"In this crazy world and in this crazy bubble, you will never know who is here every day. Things happen, it can be anything. Injuries, personal problems ...", said Kelly for her part. Olynyik.
At Disney World, players are tested daily. Kristaps Porzingis, the Latvian star from Dallas, failed one of those tests and had to observe a 24-hour quarantine.
ESPN on Friday claimed that a Sacramento player had to be quarantined for two days earlier this week, due to an inconclusive test, said to be "false positive", which was then twice negative.
Perhaps Butler finds himself in a similar situation to these.
Other than two players when they arrived in Florida, no player tested positive for the next two weeks. Usually the NBA announces every Monday the results of the screenings carried out the previous week. Those of the past week should therefore be revealed in a few hours.
In the meantime, the NBA sent a note to teams reminding them of the importance of wearing masks and respecting social distancing, adding that it is now forbidden to eat or drink while walking on campus.
© 2020 AFP