Report: Rockets Wanted to Play With Fans Despite Coronavirus Outbreak

The Rockets were one of three NBA teams with "reservations on eliminating fans from games," during the league's Board of Governors call on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

The NBA's 30 teams held a conference call on Wednesday to discuss their plan of action due to the coronavirus outbreak. The league decided to suspend the season after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday night, but the NBA and team owners previously discussed holding games without fans in arenas. The Rockets were reportedly one of the teams to push back on the idea, per Wojnarowski.

The Knicks were originally reported as the lone team to disagree with the NBA's fan ban, but the Rockets and Pacers were added on Thursday morning. 

"Besides the Knicks, two other teams on the Board of Governors call Wednesday expressed reservations on eliminating fans from games without first receiving a formal governmental mandate to do so: Houston and Indiana." Wojnarowski wrote. 

The NBA will not be holding games with or without fans for the next two weeks, though the league's current hiatus is indefinite. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Thursday he believes the 2019-20 season could last until August due to the coronavirus. 

Houston was reportedly in favor of a "3-4 weeks pause that would allow the NBA to play into the summer," per Wojnarowski. Playing in the short-term without fans was a larger issue. 

The Rockets will be No. 6 in the Western Conference at 40–24 when the season resumes. They were slated to face the Lakers in Los Angeles on Thursday night.