Tuesday’s Spurs/Pistons Game Postponed
Tuesday’s game in Detroit between the Spurs and Pistons will be postponed, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The NBA has issued a press release confirming the news.
According to the league, a positive COVID-19 test within the Spurs and subsequent contact tracing will leave San Antonio without the mandated minimum of eight available players for tomorrow’s game.
The Spurs played in Atlanta on Friday night and in Charlotte on Sunday night, but it’s unclear if either the Hawks or Hornets will be affected by the league’s contact tracing protocols. While Quinndary Weatherspoon entered the health and safety protocols on Saturday after having played 10 minutes vs. Atlanta, we don’t know with any certainty that he was the Spur to test positive.
This is the 24th time this season – and the first in two weeks – that the NBA has had to postpone a game for reasons related to a positive coronavirus test or contact tracing. The full list can be found right here.
Southeast Notes: Martin Brothers, MCW, Hawks, Collins
Caleb Martin and Cody Martin remain out for the Hornets today due to coronavirus-related issues, and starting power forward P.J. Washington has been categorized as doubtful ahead of today’s contest against the Spurs, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
When the Martins and Washington initially were held out Friday, Bonnell was unable to provide any additional info (in another piece) on whether either Martin brother or Washington had actually yielded a positive or inconclusive test for COVID-19 or had entered the league’s contact tracing protocols.
There’s more out of the Southeast:
- After a 19-game injury absence, point guard Michael Carter-Williams provided an ample boost for an injury-plagued Magic squad, per Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m always ready to go play the point,” Carter-Williams said. “Coach has me do it in practice sometimes. I’m always staying sharp in that area for moments like this, so we can go out there and not skip a beat and still be successful.”
- The Hawks have struggled to preserve leads in the fourth quarter, having gone just 9-7 this season when they’ve been ahead entering the final frame, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “I don’t know if it’s always been the fourth,” head coach Lloyd Pierce notes of Atlanta’s recent struggles. “We’re trying to find our rhythm. We’re trying to find guys to find that belief to finish the game.”
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders if the struggling Heat should make a full-court press for two-way Hawks power forward John Collins. The power forward position has been problematic for Miami this season, while Collins – who is on an expiring contract – is averaging 18.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 1.6 APG for the 11-15 Hawks. He holds a slash line of .543/.391/.853.
Towns Questioned Playing Friday After COVID-19 Outbreak In Charlotte
Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns went to head coach Ryan Saunders to question the wisdom of playing Friday’s game in Charlotte after three Hornets players entered the league’s health and safety protocols, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Towns said he started to get “spooked” after learning Cody Martin, Caleb Martin and P.J. Washington would all have to miss the game due for coronavirus-related reasons. Hornets coach James Borrego wasn’t allowed to join his team until an hour before tip-off as he waited for his test results.
“It just brought up so many things I’ve been through, and it affected me in such a way where basketball wasn’t important anymore,” Towns said. “And I remember going up to Ryan and asking, ‘Are you sure we should play this?’ These guys had some COVID positives and we’re playing with guys who were around these people.”
No NBA player has been hit harder by COVID-19 than Towns, who lost his mother and six other loved ones to the virus. He missed close to a month after testing positive in January, and although he is still carrying antibodies that make re-infection unlikely, Towns was concerned about the risk to his teammates and to the other Hornets.
“I was one of those guys that was negative today and tomorrow negative and the next day I was positive with COVID — and a bad case of it,” Towns said. “I understood where the situation was for me and not knowing what the timeline for the cases and stuff like that, and I didn’t know if they were contagious, not contagious, how well the contact tracing was and all that stuff, so I was more worried for the guys and I was worried for myself.”
Krawczynski notes that the NBA has been operating in a high-risk environment since the season began. Teams take chances every day by flying from city to city while hoping that strict protocols and frequent testing will be enough to protect the players, who are confined to their hotel rooms and have their post-game handshakes monitored.
The league has already seen 23 games postponed, albeit none since February 1. Most games are still being played in empty arenas, and there have been a few regrettable incidents, such as Kevin Durant being removed in the middle of a game last week.
Towns understands that players and owners want to keep the season going, but incidents like the one in Charlotte are a harsh reminder that the virus hasn’t gone away.
“It’s not going to stop,” he said. “The world, especially America, is just getting more and more COVID cases. I’m just worried. My heart goes out to all the people that have gotten COVID, the families that have been affected by it. I just couldn’t stomach seeing one of my guys get it and not being able to do anything. I’ve already had that situation once; I’m not trying to have that one again.”
Southeast Notes: Martin Brothers, McDaniels, Bamba, Huerter, Wizards
Hornets brothers Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will miss Friday’s game against the Timberwolves due to the league’s health and safety protocols, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. P.J. Washington has also been sidelined by the protocols, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.
Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels has been recalled from the G League’s Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, who won’t be available until at least Sunday due to quarantine rules, has averaged 20 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games at Orlando’s bubble.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Mohamed Bamba has fallen out of the Magic‘s rotation and that shouldn’t be the case, Josh Robbins of The Athletic opines. The sixth pick of the 2018 draft needs playing time to establish how much improvement he’s made since his rookie campaign and coach Steve Clifford should give the young big ample opportunities to show what he can do, Robbins adds. Robbins also takes a look at the current rotation and Clifford’s usage of reserves Gary Clark and Khem Birch.
- Hawks wing Kevin Huerter has averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.8 APG since reclaiming a spot in the lineup, K.L. Chouinard of the team’s website notes. Huerter, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension prior to next season, is on pace to set career-best marks in field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage, Chouinard adds. “It’s finding my spots and finding ways to stay aggressive and keep myself within the offense,” Huerter said.
- The Wizards are 3-8 since returning from their coronavirus pause, prompting Scott Cacciola of the New York Times to take a closer look at the team’s struggles.
Kevin Durant Cleared To Return
After missing three full games – and parts of a fourth – due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Nets star Kevin Durant has been cleared to return. Head coach Steve Nash confirmed that Durant was able to practice today and said he’ll be a “full go” for Saturday’s game against the Warriors, per Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
Durant was placed in the league’s COVID-19 protocols last Friday after being in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. The two-time Finals MVP has continued to test negative for the coronavirus during the last week, allowing him to get back in Brooklyn’s lineup on Saturday. It will be his first time playing in Golden State since he left the Warriors as a free agent in 2019.
While the Nets will have Durant back, they’ll be without DeAndre Jordan, who will miss the game for personal reasons unrelated to the coronavirus, according to Nash (Twitter link via Andrews). The expectation is that Jordan will continue to be tested for COVID-19 during his absence and will be able to rejoin Brooklyn during its West Coast road trip, which runs through February 21.
With Jordan out, both the Nets and Warriors will be extremely shorthanded at the center position, so we could see plenty of small-ball when the two teams take the court tomorrow.
Wolves Notes: Towns, Edwards, G League Bubble
After suiting up and taking the court for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday, Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns admitted he endured a “rough journey” during his absence as he battled COVID-19.
“I am a high-risk case,” Towns said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights. One of the things that I told my sister when I got COVID was that, ‘Hey, I got it, and I don’t got a good version of it. I got a lot of COVID in me, but I am going to fight and beat it.'”
While Towns acknowledged that many players around the NBA have experienced few symptoms – or none at all – after testing positive for the coronavirus, he noted that everyone’s experience is “totally different.” Several of Towns’ family members have died of complications from COVID-19, including his mother, to whom Towns said he is most “genetically connected.”
“You hear those stories where people get COVID,” Towns said, according to Youngmisuk. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, for four days, five days, I didn’t feel well, and then I turned the corner magically one day and I was feeling great.’ That did not happen with me.”
Towns was solid in his return to action, putting up 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, but he admitted to reporters that he didn’t feel mentally ready for the game. It may take a little more time before the 25-year-old back to his usual dominant self.
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- As Youngmisuk relays, Towns also became the latest star player to question the logic of holding an All-Star Game in 2021. “I personally don’t believe there should be an All-Star Game, but what the hell do I know?” Towns said, sarcastically adding: “S–t, I obviously haven’t dealt with COVID, probably a guy who has some insight into that. What should I know about COVID, right?”
- Anthony Edwards got off to a slow start during his rookie year, shooting just 34.4% from the floor and 27.4% from beyond the arc through his first 16 games. However, he has come on lately, averaging 16.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .435/.400/.800 shooting in his last nine, and entering Minnesota’s starting lineup during that time. The No. 1 overall pick is just getting started, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who says the Wolves drafted Edwards knowing he was raw and not expecting him to dominate right out of the gate.
- The Iowa Wolves – Minnesota’s G League affiliate – have been penalized for violating the health and safety protocols at the NBAGL bubble at Walt Disney World. As Adam Zagoria of Forbes tweets, the club was fined $10K, while Charlie Brown, Ashton Hagans, Jaylen Johnson, Ade Murkey, and Dakarai Tucker were all suspended without pay for two games. Iowa added Isaiah Briscoe and Jaylen Morris from the bubble’s available player pool to temporarily fill the holes on its roster, tweets Adam Johnson.
Atlantic Notes: Rivers, Ntilikina, Langford, Nets Big Three
New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers deserves a lot of credit for the 18-7 Philadelphia’s current perch as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rivers commands respect in the Sixers locker room due to his championship pedigree and prior success across head coaching stops in Orlando, Boston, and most recently Los Angeles. Sixers center Joel Embiid is enjoying his best season as a pro thus far, averaging career-bests in scoring (29.1 PPG), steals (1.4 SPG), and shooting (.547/.377.855).
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks reserve guard Frank Ntilikina is not traveling with New York for the team’s game against the Wizards tomorrow despite continuing to test negative for the novel coronavirus, according to Ian Begley of SNY. Ntilikina has been held out of team activities since Tuesday after contact tracing determined he had been close to someone who later recorded a positive test for COVID-19.
- Celtics head coach Brad Stevens indicated in comments today that reserve guard Romeo Langford will not be back with the club until after the NBA All-Star break in March, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Langford had a right wrist surgery to address torn ligaments in his shooting wrist in September.
- The Nets still hope to improve the on-court dynamic between their new Big Three of All-Stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden now that everybody is healthy, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “It’s funny,” head coach Steve Nash noted. “[It’s been] four weeks already, Kevin and [Irving] and James have played 5 ½ games, if you include the Raptors game, together.”
Raptors Will Finish 2020/21 Season In Tampa
The Raptors will spend the rest of the 2020/21 season playing their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, the team announced today in a press release.
The franchise, which was unable to play in Toronto to start this season due to the coronavirus-related restrictions in place on the U.S./Canadian border, had left the door open to the possibility of returning to its own building – Scotiabank Arena – later in the season.
The hope was that the COVID-19 situation would have improved enough on both sides of the border to loosen those health and safety restrictions by the second half. However, it appears that won’t happen.
“Florida has been really welcoming to us and we’re so grateful for the hospitality we’ve found in Tampa and at Amalie – we’re living in a city of champions, and we intend to carry on the tradition of winning for our new friends and fans here,” Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “But home is where the heart is, and our hearts are in Toronto. We think often of our fans, of our Scotiabank Arena family, and all those we are missing back home, and we can’t wait until we can all be together again.”
The Raptors have enjoyed only a slight “home-court” advantage in Tampa so far in 2020/21, going 6-5 in home games and 6-8 on the road.
The team hosted fans at Amalie Arena at a reduced capacity earlier in the season but later reversed course and closed its doors. The stated reason was the rise of COVID-19 cases in the area, but the fact that many of the fans in attendance were cheering for Raptors’ visiting opponents may have played a part as well.
Tighter Health And Safety Protocols Extended
The NBA and its players union have agreed on an extension of the current health and safety protocols through at least the final game before the All-Star break, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Those rules place strict limits on interactions between traveling parties and the community.
The league introduced tighter protocols in early January in an effort to keep COVID-19 under control. The new regulations include a requirement that all players who are dressed for a game must wear face masks until they check in. Inactive players must be masked for the entire game.
The agreement comes at a time when the virus situation throughout the league is improving. Players registered just one positive result in the latest round of testing, marking three straight weeks with no more than one. Twenty-three games have been postponed since the start of the season, but none have been called off since February 1.
One New Positive COVID-19 Test Among Players Since Feb. 3
Among the 470 NBA players who were tested for the coronavirus within the last week, just one recorded a confirmed positive test, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The NBA and NBPA issued press releases confirming those testing results, which date back to February 3.
The league and its teams haven’t been publicly confirming which players have tested positive for the coronavirus. However, Khris Middleton‘s comments earlier in the week suggested that Bucks teammate Jrue Holiday registered a positive test.
Middleton did note that there was a chance that test was a false positive, so we don’t know for sure that Holiday was the one player to have a confirmed positive this week.
Either way, it’s a fairly encouraging update for the NBA, which has now had three consecutive weeks with no more than one positive confirmed test among its players. If the trend continues, the league should be able to avoid the mass postponements that occurred in January when 27 players tested positive during a two-week stretch.