The Charlotte Hornets didn't experience bubble life in the NBA restart.
Now, they're in nose-swab life.
"We get tested twice a day — nasal, mouth swab, everything. I feel like it's pretty safe," Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels said of the protocols during training camp regarding COVID-19.
The Hornets lost a player to a positive coronavirus test before practices began Friday. Guard Malik Monk hasn't shown symptoms, according to coach James Borrego, but Monk's positive test will keep him out several more days.
In order to complete last season, the NBA created a massive bubble — sequestering hundreds of players and other team personnel — at Disney's campus outside Orlando, Fla. The Hornets weren't one of the 22 teams that were invited to that restart that eventually crowned the Los Angeles Lakers champions.
The Hornets and the other seven teams not part of it were allowed to hold two-week mini-camps in late October and early November, with each team creating a "mini-bubble;" players and staff were housed away from the general public during these practices.
NBA players are no longer separated from the public — they go home after practice each day — but there are dozens of pages of protocols to prepare for the regular season. The NBA will now face challenges similar to that of the NFL and MLB, including the possibility of postponed or canceled games.
Already, the Portland Trail Blazers shut down their training facility before their first practice in response to three positive tests in four days. Nationwide, there is a spike in the pandemic, with more than 100,000 hospitalizations reported.
