The coronavirus-impacted NBA season has been taxing for players, fans, and frankly everyone | Keith Pompey

The NBA’s non-bubble pandemic season has been exhausting.

It has drained the excitement out of this NBA season. A lot of the games have a preseason feel to them thanks to undermanned rosters due to injuries or players being in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

For fans, the frustration has to do with not knowing which players are going to appear on a given night due to contact tracing or a star player testing positive for COVID.

For players, the frustration has to do with all of the protocols and the uncertainty.

“We talk about this every day,” said 76ers guard Danny Green, whose squad defeated the Brooklyn Nets 124-108 Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“The frustration lies with everyone,” he added. “Obviously, the protocol is to have us test twice a day now. Some days, we’ve tested three times, which is ridiculous. We tested early in the morning. We tested after a game. We tested after we landed. And we still have to rapid test again in the building.”

Green doesn’t understand why the rapid test is administered. Its accuracy is in question. On nights the Sixers have a 5 p.m. shootaround, the players have to be at the arena no later than 4 p.m. to get tested in the their cars.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid is a lock to make the All-Star team. Will he attend? | Off the Dribble

The players brought their frustrations to the attention of the league and National Basketball Players Association to get things changed.

Green realizes the league is trying to monitor players, thus the testing in the mornings and evenings. But he thinks a lot of it is extreme.

“A lot of it is taking time from our families and our time at home,” he said. “You know when you are taking the time away from our lives, it’s frustrating. If I have to stop my errands in the middle of the day to go get tested on whatever errands I may be doing, whether it’s curbside pickup or going to Home Depot, Best Buy, Bath and Beyond, and I’m like ‘Oh, if I don’t get tested between 5 [p.m.] and 6:30, I’m going to have to do five days of quarantine.

“So, yes, the frustration is throughout the whole league, not just within them.”

There’s a concern that players could burn out mentally from the monitoring and game postponements.

Doc Rivers thinks that the mental part of the game is something people in the league should focus on. This season is different in that players and staff aren’t in a bubble, they’re all able to go home. They cook their own food and do various activities with their family. It’s sort of a “soft” bubble-type atmosphere that brings the mental strain.

“They’re human beings,” Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said. “Most of these guys have worked so hard to get here. They love the game. They prepare, they compete and they have to do it consistently to either play at this level and be great at this level, stay at this level and be great at this level.

“When you are put in this scenario, it’s more difficult. It’s taxing. It’s going to be stretches where it’s really tough for them emotionally and mentally.”

The frustration of not seeing teams at their optimum took us to Saturday night’s much-anticipated Eastern Conference contest between the Sixers and Nets at the Wells Fargo Center.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s 33 points lead Sixers to 124-108 win over James Harden’s Brooklyn Nets

Even after Thursday’s bad loss to the undermanned Portland Trail Blazers, the Sixers had the best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-7. The third-place Nets took a 14-9 record into Friday’s home contest against the Toronto Raptors.

While the Raptors (10-12) are improving, that game, for the Nets, was supposed to be nothing more than just a tuneup.

But that changed once Kevin Durant was forced out of the game twice due to the protocols.

He was removed from the starting lineup after someone he interacted with in the afternoon had an inconclusive positive test shortly before the game. Eventually, Durant was cleared to enter the game in the first quarter while the case was reviewed.

However, it was determined later in the game that Durant’s close contact had tested positive. So, in the third quarter, Durant was told that he had to leave the game. Durant played a total of 19 minutes with a season-low eight points in what turned out to be a 123-117 home loss. Durant, 32, is second in the league in scoring at 29.5 points.

“That made no sense,” Rivers said. “From the beginning, it didn’t. You knew something was going on, at least I did, because we had to deal with this a little bit. Right when Kevin didn’t come out [at the start of the game], one announcer said he was out and another announcer said they may expect him back for the game, you knew there was an issue.”

Rivers became more confused when Durant left the game for good.

James Harden, who the Nets acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Houston Rockets last month, expressed his frustration after game.

“We follow the protocols,” he said. “We get tested every single day, so I don’t understand the whole thing where he couldn’t play and then he came on the court, and then they took him back.

“It’s kind of overwhelming, especially when we’re in the midst of a tough game, and these games are going to add up, especially if we talk about playoff seeding.”

But as soon as Durant the game for good, one had to figure Saturday’s contest would lose a lot of luster.

Durant, who tested negative, is sidelined until Friday. Nets point guard Kyrie Irving also missed the game with a right index finger sprain. He’s listed as day-to-day.

» READ MORE: How has Seth Curry’s COVID-19 recovery impacted his performance? | Sixers mailbag

Saturday’s contest was also reminiscent of the Sixers’ 122-109 loss to Nets on Jan. 7 when Durant (protocols), Irving (personal reasons) and Spencer Dinwiddie (ACL) didn’t play. The Sixers’ Seth Curry (sore ankle) also missed that game and he was also informed in the first quarter of a positive COVID test.

Due to contact tracing, the Sixers were forced to play the Denver Nuggets at home two days later with seven players. Philly then had nine available players on Jan. 11 in a 112-94 road to loss the Atlanta Hawks. The next night, the Sixers had 10 available players in a 137-134 overtime home win against a Miami Heat team with just eight players.

On Jan. 17, the Sixers’ road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed 1 ½ hours before game time. The Sixers did not have the eight required available players because of their ongoing contact tracing.

Prominent NBA players are now speaking out against the league’s desire to host an All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta.

They would rather have the week off than deal with the protocols and the uncertainty of what would happen if someone there tests positive.

The league has yet to inform players what the regulations would be in Atlanta if there is a game. They don’t know what testing would be like upon their return.

“So we’re still waiting to hear from those things,” Green said. “I honestly think people think we have the inside scoop on that. But we’re waiting just like you guys are.”