Rough road: Playing during pandemic means 'long days' in NBA

When Washington coach Scott Brooks was a player and would ask coaches about their profession, he would always got the same response: It is a lonely job.

Never more so than now, probably.

As if playing games in arenas that are somewhere between mostly and entirely empty during a still-raging coronavirus pandemic wasn’t hard enough, the rules for players and coaches -- both home and on the road — are getting even tougher. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association on Tuesday agreed to stiffer protocols, including ones where players and coaches will essentially have to stay in their hotels during road trips except for team activities and without receiving visitors.

“We have to keep everything in perspective,” Brooks said. “It’s tough, but we get to do something we really, really love to do and we’re fortunate. It’s a privilege to be able to be in the NBA, to coach, to play. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do both.”

Even without the new rules, solitude and loneliness have been hallmarks of road trips already this season. Denver coach Michael Malone couldn’t go see family when the Nuggets visited New York — his birthplace and where his NBA coaching career began with the Knicks. He wanted to see his parents on the Nuggets’ recent trip there; he couldn’t, and now hasn’t in nearly two full years.

“A big part of coming back has always been a chance to see my mother and my father, brothers, sisters, friends and so on and so forth, and that is not the case this year,” Malone said. “So, definitely takes away from this opportunity.”

The NBA’s rules are superseded by local regulations, which in Los Angeles County have been among the most restrictive. Residents are under a stay-at-home order, indoor and outdoor dining isn’t allowed, and Chicago coach Billy Donovan...