The NBA is set to descend on Orlando this week, with all 22 teams arriving between July 7 and July 9, but the mood heading into these pivotal dates has been more ominous than celebratory.
Seven teams have shut down their practice facilities due to positive coronavirus tests over the past few two weeks, including the Clippers, as 25 out of 351 players (7.1%) and 10 out of 884 staff members (1.1%) have tested positive since teams reported back on June 23. That gives players and teams even less time to prepare their bodies, though practices were still limited to individual workouts, heading into the seeding games.