Mavs Carlisle On NBA and Coronavirus: 'Do The Right Thing'
DALLAS- How could the spread of the coronavirus impact NBA teams like the Dallas Mavericks? That’s what the NBA is asking the Mavericks and the rest of the league’s teams to prepare for in the event that the virus becomes so prevalent that drastic steps need to be taken.
As of Sunday afternoon, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle simply talked about the need for everyone to keep themselves informed about the virus, how it’s spread and what they can do to prevent getting it.
“I’m married to a beautiful infectious disease doctor,” Carlisle first joked when DallasBasketball.com first posed the question to him. “I encourage everyone to get educated about it the way I’ve been educated about it. And we’ve just got to do the right things.
"Knowledge is the No. 1 first step.”
Carlisle’s wife, Donna, has been a pediatrician since Carlisle’s days as an NBA assistant coach. And all kidding aside ... His wife’s experience in medicine has likely educated Carlisle in a way that other NBA coaches might not be.
Per the league’s memo, every NBA team has been advised to implement the following precautions in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus. Those precautions include:
· An arrangement with an infectious disease specialist;
· Identification of facilities for testing for the coronavirus;
· Plans to limit team and arena staff who have close contact with players;
· Plans to ensure distribution of hand sanitizer to players and team staff.
The NBA will reportedly have a conference call with team medical staff on Monday and teams reportedly must have plans in place by Tuesday.
The Mavs are having their own illness issues that have nothing to do with the spread of the coronavirus, as both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were on the injury report with illnesses. Hardaway played Sunday night, scoring 30 points, while Kidd-Gilchrist did not play.
The coronavirus has already made a significant impact on sports, esports, gaming and concerts, according to ESPN. The most significant cancellation came on March 6 when South By Southwest officials canceled the entire festival, including its concerts, education convention and esports events. On the same day the Associated Press reported that 100,000 cases of the virus had been detected worldwide, and on Sunday the Italian government put the entire northern part of the country on lockdown, limiting travel as the government considers canceling all public events in that region. Italy is the second-hardest hit country after China. The Pope even cancelled morning mass at The Vatican.
The Mavs confirmed to DBcom that they have received the memo from the NBA, that the team’s medical staff went over the memo with the team and that the usual High-Five pregame line with fans did not happen Sunday night as a precaution.
The most drastic step the NBA could take would be to hold games, but not allow fans to attend. An NBA memo on Friday directed teams to start preparing for that possibility, though it would likely be seen as a last resort. LeBron James was asked about that possibility and said that if fans couldn’t come to the game, he wasn’t going to play.
Carlisle declined to answer that particular question. But it's in play around the sports world. Some EuroLeague games have already been played without fans to try and curb the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, some NBA players have already taken precautions. Portland’s C.J. McCollum tweeted on Feb. 29, after the first case of the coronavirus was found in Oregon, that he would be taking a break from signing autographs and encouraged all fans to wash their hands and take other precautions.
The Mavs, who lost on Sunday at the AAC to the Pacers (game story here) will be in San Antonio on Tuesday, the front-end of a back-to-back set that brings them back to American Airlines Center for a Wednesday game with the Denver Nuggets, followed by a Saturday home game against Phoenix. The games will go on ... but so will the "do-the-right-things'' precautions.
