League and players association have dropped the number of positive cases to none at Disney; some players still quarantined in home markets<\/b>
\nLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. >> It\u2019s the number that everyone in the world wants to reach: zero. On a small scale, in a costly process, the NBA has reached it.
Among the 346 players being tested for coronavirus on the campus at Walt Disney World resort, there have been zero new cases diagnosed since July 13, the NBA and the players\u2019 association announced Monday afternoon. The number of positive cases started at 16 when the league began testing last month. There were 25 additional positive tests of players in the following week, July 2, with an additional 10 staff members testing positive. Since July 2, 19 more players have tested positive and quarantined in their home locations. Two positive tests were caught entering quarantine on campus to the NBA\u2019s restart.
While the NBA has a long way to go to its mid-October finish to the season \u2014 and numerous other hurdles to consider \u2014 dropping player cases to zero on campus gave the league a huge sigh of relief in an experiment that hasn\u2019t really been attempted before in major American sports. It was the most convincing sign yet that the bubble is doing what it was intended to do: withstand the influx of COVID-19 that has been on the rise around the country and particularly in Central Florida.
Case numbers for other attendees \u2014 including coaches, staff, league personnel, media and Disney employees \u2014 were not released, making it unclear if the campus has scrubbed itself clear of coronavirus through a mixture of daily testing and recommended health and hygiene procedures.
Some players who have tested positive are quarantined within their home markets until they clear multiple negative tests in succession. The Rockets\u2019 Russell Westbrook and the Bucks\u2019 Pat Connaughton are two such players who plan to join their teams in the bubble once they clear protocols.
Kyle Kuzma among practice standouts
In the closing moments of the first semi-public practice the Lakers have held in months, Frank Vogel stopped a late play in its tracks. He wanted his team to look to Kyle Kuzma as an offensive option in the set, noting that he had shot 9 for 10 in the team\u2019s scrimmage on Saturday.
That should perk the ears of fans who have been waiting for the third-year forward to start ascending: Kuzma has struggled to find consistency as a sixth man this year, struggling with both the slide to the bench behind Anthony Davis and a number of injuries. Since the Lakers have begun group practices in the last week, Vogel said, Kuzma has been one of the most impressive players, threading together \u201cdominant\u201d stretches.
\u201cThe shot making wasn\u2019t always there, but it\u2019s been there at a very high level during this restart,\u201d Vogel said. \u201cWe\u2019re very encouraged and excited about what having sort of a real training camp, a healthy training camp, could mean for him.\u201d
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope\u2019s grip on Avery Bradley\u2019s starting role seemed more assured this week, as Vogel said he was \u201cpretty sure\u201d the guard who started for Bradley during an injury earlier this season would start again when the Lakers take the floor on Thursday for a scrimmage against the Mavericks.
Markieff Morris, who has an excused absence from the team but is expected to rejoin the group during the restart, was the only missing Laker from Monday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n