Duke basketball: Austin Rivers back in bubble, ready to rejoin Rockets
Former Duke basketball standout guard Austin Rivers is back in the NBA’s bubble and almost set to rejoin his teammates.
Austin Rivers is back in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando, Florida and is just about set to rejoin his Houston Rockets teammates on the practice court.
Rivers had to leave the bubble over the weekend but announced on his Instagram that he has returned and is in quarantine, according to NBA rules and regulations.
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The former Duke Blue Devil is under similar guidelines as Zion Williamson, who also left the bubble to tend to a family emergency but tested negative for COVID-19 every day he was away from the bubble.
Other rules surrounding players’ return to the bubble have more serious quarantine times like the Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams.
Austin Rivers’ father, Doc, the head coach of the Clippers, did not leave the bubble.
In his first full season with the Rockets, Rivers is averaging 8.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 42.1 percent shooting from the floor and 35.8 percent from 3-point territory.
The 6-foot-4 guard returned to the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World on Saturday, July 25 after reportedly departing on Friday, July 24.
ALSO READ: Austin Rivers leaves NBA bubble for a family emergency
Rivers’ quarantine will come to an end on Tuesday evening (July 28), and he will not take part in the team’s final scrimmage on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics.
However, Rivers will be rejoining his team for practice on Wednesday and will be available to play in the opening game of the restarted season for the Rockets on July 31 against the Dallas Mavericks.
ALSO READ: Perfect timing for Zion Williamson’s return to NBA bubble
Houston has already clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the team can still improve its seeding, which currently sits as the No. 6 seed.
The Rockets are currently tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and trail the Utah Jazz by one game for the No. 4 seed and are two and a half games behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 seed.