Houston Rockets: The NBA’s move to re-open is strikingly imminent

The Houston Rockets will likely be seeing action in late July if the NBA has their way. The wheels are starting to turn for an imminent re-opening.

Houston Rockets‘ faithful — out of our Big 3 professional sports teams, it’s apparent that the NBA is likely going to be the league to strike first in terms of being the one that will get things going in this careful balance of managing safety and protecting their highly-lucrative business.

It’s tough to gauge what the NBA is losing per day in revenue because of no games being played but baseball is taking $75 million hit per day for each game that has not taken place.  I would imagine the NBA is likely at that amount or just slightly higher because of fewer games to spread out money over a length of time.

I also know the amount would vary between the larger and smaller market teams as well but in general, this global pandemic has hit the sports industry hard so the pressure to get things going is there and it looks like the NBA has a plan to do that.

I had hoped that the Houston Rockets would be at their home facility at Toyota Center in a regional format where a few cities would “host” other NBA teams to finish out the 2019-20 season.  It’s apparent the NBA has moved toward in favor of a “bubble” approach where they will utilize the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the Disney World campus in Orlando, Fla.

This is the safer approach because the league will be able to executive robust testing, isolate and closely monitor who can penetrate the said bubble.

As states begin to loosen restrictions on businesses, NBA franchises — like the Houston Rockets — have opened their facilities for voluntary individual workouts on a limited basis.  They’ve been open since May 18.  So far, 23 out of the 30 franchises have opened things up with the majority of those who are not are still in areas regarded as hot spots for coronavirus cases.

P.J. Tucker, Isaiah Hartenstein and Bruno Caboclo were the first to use the facilities for individual workouts and I’m sure others that are nearby will follow.

The Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors still have their buildings closed off to players and staff.

The Spurs are the inconspicuous franchise as Texas was one of the first states to loosen

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restrictions — since May 1 — but I’d imagine Gregg Popovich wants to ensure that the environment is as safe as possible to hold practices and is taking a cautious approach.

Because of the decision that’s likely headed toward the bubble-approach, teams will likely just send their staff to Orlando and not even bother to open up their own facilities.

But it’s happening ya’ll — the league is asking players to return to their home markets if they’re in a different city/state and those who are abroad are being asked to return with exceptions in place for them to clear customs to get back to work.

The NBA is aiming for a late July start to finish up the season but things are subject to change based on the latest health recommendations.

No re-opening will be perfect but I trust wholeheartedly that Adam Silver will get this right and he will.

So we’ll be seeing our Houston Rockets soon and I can’t wait for this happen as they continue their quest to secure their third championship in franchise history.

Let’s go!