HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Just hours before playing in his first NBA game in two years John Wall was on the floor prior to the Rockets morning shootaround at Toyota Center when all of the sudden the rug was pulled out from under him.
Not only did Wall have to leave the arena, but he was going to have to go into a seven-day quarantine under the NBA's health and safety protocols, delaying his long-awaited return.
"I was mad," Wall said Tuesday after completing his quarantine. "I was hot, I ain't gonna cap. I was hot."
Wall was one of six Rockets unavailable for the start of the regular season due to a positive COVID-19 test or contact tracing, joining DeMarcus, Cousins, Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore, Mason Jones, and K.J. Martin. Wall never tested positive and insisted he did nothing wrong.
"All I did was get a haircut in my apartment," Wall said, but the problem for him was that while his barber tested negative, one of his teammates, believed to be Martin, tested positive. "I'd rather get cut in my apartment than be in a barber shop somewhere where random people are coming in constantly."
While averaging 23 minutes in the Rockets first three playoff games, Wall averaged 16.3 points and 5.3 assists. Thursday's game against the Sacramento Kings will be his first NBA since tearing his achilles two years ago. He tried to stay in shape during his quarantine by running stairs and riding the bike, but says he'll be ready when the ball is tipped at Toyota Center.
"The way I've been preparing myself for this comeback for two years, nothing is gonna set me back. I was able to get some work in on the low and do the things I needed to, so I'm prepared, I'm locked in."