- On Tuesday, more details about the NBA’s plan to restart the season in a “bubble” in Florida became public.
- According to a report from The Athletic, players would be able to report protocol violations via an anonymous tip-line to ensure social distancing measured were being followed.
- Immediately, NBA Twitter set to roasting Chris Paul, who earlier this season helped the Oklahoma City Thunder steal a game from the Minnesota Timberwolves thanks to his well-timed tattletale.
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NBA fans are slowly learning more details regarding the league’s plan to restart the season in a “bubble” at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Florida.
On Tuesday night, fans got their first look at some of the rules, restrictions, and entertainment ideas the league was working to put in place, from which hotels players will be staying in, to how often players will be tested, and the protocols for what would happen should a player test positive.
One detail that immediately caught the collective eye of NBA Twitter was the establishment of an anonymous hotline that players could call to report violations of protocols they saw in Orlando, as reported by Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The hotline makes sense in theory – the NBA is clearly going a long way to attempt to bring back the season as safely as possible – but when viewed through the lens of NBA Twitter, the jokes came fast and furious, with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul as the punchline.
Chris Paul calling the NBA's bubble-violation hotline for the sixth time in one night pic.twitter.com/AvrPiLDXKY
— Blue Wire (@bluewirepods) June 17, 2020
The hotline is Chris Paul’s cell number. https://t.co/vDu9M1xxWI
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) June 17, 2020
Chris Paul when he sees anything other than players going to the gym and to bed https://t.co/gsCL7luF5F pic.twitter.com/Arctglqnwu
— 🧊CJ🧊 (@EurostepCJ) June 17, 2020
Chris Paul on the anonymous hotline. pic.twitter.com/ezKELLhXOo
— Ken Glizzy Jr. (@JamesDGrambo) June 17, 2020
Chris Paul snitchin on playoff opponents entire roster like pic.twitter.com/BkBkHuFqFg
— Scottie PIPM (@scottiepipm) June 17, 2020
Paul has long been known for his exacting play, but his reputation as a tattletale was cemented during a game earlier this season in which his snitching helped the Thunder secure a win over the Timberwolves.
With just seconds remaining and the Thunder trailing by two, Wolves center Karl-Anthony Townes was at the free throw line looking to extend his team's lead. But before he would get the opportunity to shoot, Paul called out to the referees, bringing attention to the fact that Jordan Bell had returned to the floor with his jersey untucked.
"That's a delay of game!" Paul could be heard shouting, and the officials agreed. And because it was the Timberwolves second delay on the night, it resulted in a technical foul. The Thunder would go on to win the game.
https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1203163247072944128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While his history of on-court antics made Paul the butt of most of the jokes made on Tuesday night, other players we're safe from getting roasted, with LeBron James, D'Angelo Russell, and Gordon Hayward all getting their fair share of punchlines as well.
https://twitter.com/TonyClementsTC/status/1273088402276171776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, and Gordon Hayward on the 1-800-NBASNITCH line every night pic.twitter.com/7cmyT8pVpv
— Andrew Hammond (@ahammALDC) June 17, 2020
“Yes, it was Giannis and Kawhi out with no masks. I’m certain of it” https://t.co/he11tmaqer pic.twitter.com/nus9N1SbqT
— Mickstape (@MickstapeShow) June 17, 2020
We don't know what the NBA's hotline will look like in practice yet, but rest assured, if a player winds up getting dinged for failing to properly socially distance, Twitter will be ready with jokes.
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