Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. was a late scratch from Game 3 of his team’s Western Conference semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers for what were described as “personal reasons.” It was later revealed that he is under investigation for a possible bubble violation, and now we know what the issue is.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that House is being investigated by the NBA for allegedly allowing a female COVID-19 testing official into his hotel room. A decision on his status is expected to come before Game 4 on Thursday night.
The NBA now has to determine whether House needs to quarantine. That could have a significant impact on his availability for the remainder of the series, as we already saw the NBA force one player to quarantine for 10 days over a violation of the league’s healthy and safety protocols. In that case, however, the player had left the Walt Disney World campus.
House and the Rockets are the lone team remaining staying at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, and players and staff undergo daily testing there.
House, 27, is averaging 10.5 points in 30.4 minutes per game this season. He’s averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs.
