Thunder vs. Rockets postponed due to COVID protocols involving John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden and others

The NBA had huge success holding the end of its 2019-20 regular season and entire postseason in the Orlando bubble with not a single game postponed for COVID-19 reasons. However, the league is not putting teams in a bubble to start the 2020-21 regular season and there are going to be consequences. That has showed up already as Wednesday night's Thunder at Rockets matchup has been postponed because Houston doesn't have the required eight available players due to COVID-19 protocol breaches by a handful of others, including newcomers John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and superstar James Harden. Any bets at William Hill Sportsbook on the game are void.

Harden has been pushing for a trade all offseason and reportedly has had some heated exchanges with teammates in practices – Harden showed up late to camp as it was as he was seen partying in Atlanta and Las Vegas while his teammates were working. That required Harden to pass six straight days of COVID testing to practice; he reportedly caught the virus over the summer before the NBA restart in Orlando.

As of this writing, it's not clear if the three-time reigning league scoring champion and former MVP would have been out Wednesday, but the NBA is reviewing social media video of Harden partying maskless at a club this week to determine if he violated the league's COVID-19 protocols. Reportedly, the video is from a Houston club's Christmas party.

If the Rockets and league office can determine it is legitimate recent video, it's likely Harden will miss a few games. The NBA's COVID-19 protocols prohibit players from going to bars, lounges or clubs and from participating in social gatherings of more than 15 people.

Wall, a five-time All-Star, was acquired a few weeks ago from Washington for Russell Westbrook. Cousins, a four-time All-Star, is one of 11 players in NBA history with career averages of at least 20.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 3.0 apg but has barely played the past few seasons due to serious injuries. Cousins last played for Golden State during the 2019 NBA Finals. The Rockets gave him a one-year deal. Apparently those two and at least a few teammates gathered Tuesday evening at a player's apartment away from the team facility getting haircuts.

It's expected to be a rebuilding season for the Thunder after letting Coach Billy Donovan walk this offseason and trading Dennis Schroder to the Lakers, Chris Paul to the Suns and Steven Adams to the Pelicans. 

Bettors definitely will need to get used to NBA spreads (and totals) changing dramatically at a moment's notice this season because COVID protocols are going to knock stars out many times. 

Before setting your NBA DFS lineups on daily Fantasy sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, you NEED to see what Mike McClure has to say. McClure is a daily Fantasy pro with nearly $2 million in career winnings.