Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. left the NBA bubble after violating the NBA campus’s health and safety protocols earlier this week, the NBA has announced in a statement. He will not return for the remainder of Houston’s playoff run.
Through an investigation, the NBA determined that House had an unauthorized guest in his room over multiple hours on Tuesday, September 8. House maintained that he was innocent of any wrongdoing, according to Yahoo Sports.
The unauthorized guest crossed multiple checkpoints in a report in 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.
House has missed the past two games for the Rockets. The reasoning for his absence was initially labeled as “personal reasons.” Chandler was also listed as out for Game Three due to personal reasons. He was later cleared and returned to the Rockets bench for Game Four.
House is an integral role player on a paper-thin Houston roster. He averaged 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds this season and had upped his production in the playoffs to 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in nine postseason games. His defensive contributions — he is one of the few Rockets who has the size and agility to keep up with LeBron James — are integral to the Rockets’ gameplan as well.
The Rockets currently trail 3-1 in their Western Conference Semifinal matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. The two teams face off in Orlando tonight.
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