Wizards head coach Scott Brooks talks with guard Jerome Robinson in a game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 6 in Washington. (AP file photo)

Such was the case Tuesday — in a very tempered fashion.

The first preseason camps of the coronavirus era are formally open, with teams limited for now to individual sessions with one coach and one player at one basket, all of this starting to happen as the pandemic continues raging and more and more Americans are testing positive.

“I’m very concerned if we can pull this off,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said.

He probably isn’t alone in that thinking.

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers reacts during the first half of an NBA playoff game against the Denver Nuggets on Sept. 15 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP file photo)

Washington coach Scott Brooks said the Wizards already have seen one player test positive for coronavirus, and Orlando coach Steve Clifford said Magic center Mo Bamba — who tested positive several months ago — is still “a ways away” from being ready to play again. Later Tuesday, Golden State general manager Bob Myers said two Warriors have tested positive, meaning that club won’t start full-scale practice until at least Monday, a mere six days before its preseason opener.

There will likely be more positives. Probably many more.

Rivers, noting how the virus is becoming a major issue for college football and the NFL in terms of getting games played, said the effect on an NBA team losing a key player or two for even a short period could essentially wreck a season.

“In football they play once a week and they have 1,000 players, so when you miss three or four players, you can still get away with it,” Rivers said. “If we miss three or four players, we’re in trouble, especially with the amount of games. We’re playing three and four games a week. So, if one of our guys or two of our key guys get the virus and they miss 10 days, 14 days, that can be eight games in a 72-game season. That can knock you out in the playoffs.”

Players and coaches are being tested daily and that is likely to be the plan for throughout the season. Protocols that the league sent to teams late last week suggested that, in many cases, it would take at least 12 days for a player to be able to return to play after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The league had no positive tests once players entered the restart bubble over the summer. But now back in the real world, with travel and hotels and airplanes back in the mix, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said the challenge will fall on individuals to do the right things.

“Here, people are coming in and out, it’ll be much more difficult and the discipline will have to be even greater,” Popovich said.