Houston swingman Danuel House Jr. has missed the past two games of the Rockets’ series with the Lakers for what the team has called “personal reasons,” but news continues to come out about the nature of House’s absence.
The latest is from Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic, who report that a guest entered the Rockets’ hotel and made her way into the building before she was flagged by security. Apparently, “early data points” from the league’s investigation into her visit connected both House and veteran center Tyson Chandler, but it appears there is nothing that directly implicates that either did anything to compromise the integrity of the Bubble.
More from The Athletic:
A woman entered the Rockets’ team hotel on Monday night, passing multiple security checkpoints before being flagged for her entry, sources said. She exited the hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and the league cited early data points that implicated two members of the Rockets, House and Tyson Chandler, sources said. When the woman was questioned by NBA security, she did not implicate House’s name and it is uncertain whether she remains on campus, sources said. She claimed to have contact with Chandler and another player, not named House, according to sources.
According to sources, the Rockets’ entire team had to enter a quarantine period on Tuesday due to the potential exposure. Those sources said there appears to be no video connecting House and the woman; only the flagging of her entering and leaving the hotel, and the possibility of a door opening and closing to match those timelines. The NBA has informed involved parties that it has circumstantial evidence implicating House.
House apparently is being steadfast in telling the NBA that no “improper contact with the staffer” occurred. No matter what comes of the investigation, which is clearly short on hard evidence right now, the damage may already be done, as House has missed two games — both Lakers wins — of the underdog Rockets’ second-round bout with Los Angeles.
The NBA is being understandably strict about securing the Bubble. The fate of the season and the league’s financial security rests in the league’s ability to ensure nobody at the Wide World of Sport complex becomes infected with COVID-19, and they have to enforce those rules uniformly. Something unusual appears to have happened this week at the Rockets’ hotel, as someone was able to slip through the league’s security measures. But while there doesn’t appear to yet be anything firm that pegs House with an infraction, his absence has been dire for Houston.
