Two More NBA Games Postponed
Health and safety protocols have forced a pair of Friday games to be postponed, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter link). The game between the Wizards and Pistons in Detroit and the contest between the Warriors and Suns in Phoenix have both been called off.
“Because of ongoing contact tracing within the Wizards and Suns, the teams will not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with Friday night’s games,” the league stated.
Washington and Phoenix, which played each other Monday, both had games postponed tonight for the same reason. The Wizards were scheduled to host the Jazz, while the Suns had a home game with the Hawks.
The latest postponements bring the total to nine for the season, with eight of those coming since Sunday. This marks the first time the league has postponed a game two days in advance.
Sixteen Positives In Latest Round Of COVID-19 Testing
The NBA is reporting 16 positives among the 497 coronavirus tests conducted since January 6, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
There were just four positives last week among 498 tests, notes Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Sixteen is more than the league has experienced in the last four weeks combined, adds Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
Several teams have seen their rosters severely depleted by the virus in the past week, with six games being canceled, including three tonight.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the highest-profile player to be confirmed with the virus this week. Among identified cases, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. also tested positive, along with Sixers guard Seth Curry, four players from the Mavericks, and one from the Heat.
Eric Paschall Clears COVID-19 Protocols
JANUARY 13: Paschall has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will join the Warriors on their upcoming road trip, tweets Slater. Golden State will begin that trip on Thursday in Denver.
JANUARY 12: Second-year Warriors reserve power forward Eric Paschall will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Pacers as a result of the league’s coronavirus protocols, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Slater adds that the timeline for Paschall’s anticipated absence from the Warriors has yet to be determined. He may have returned a positive or inconclusive COVID-19 test result, or he may have come into contact with someone who later tested positive and is being isolated as a result of subsequent contact tracing.
Golden State drafted the 6’6″ forward, now 24, with the No. 41 pick out of Villanova in 2019. After injuries thrust him into a major role during his first NBA season, 2019/20, Paschall was named to the season’s All-Rookie First Team.
This year, Paschall is averaging 12.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.3 APG in 19.3 MPG for the 6-4 Warriors. Across 10 games, he holds a shooting slash line of .542/.389/.828.
COVID-19 Notes: Hill, Conference Calls, Vaccine, More
We can count Thunder guard George Hill among those who aren’t fans of the new, more restrictive coronavirus protocols that were agreed upon by the NBA and the NBPA this week. Addressing reporters on Tuesday night, Hill questioned the logic behind some of the rule changes, including the limits placed on postgame interactions between players, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes.
“I just don’t understand some of the rules as far as we can sweat 48 minutes with the guy next to us and the team next to us, but we can’t talk to him after the game,” Hill said. “It makes no sense.”
Hill also openly wondered if it makes sense to continue playing the season if such restrictive measures are necessary — and if even those measures can’t guarantee that there won’t be an outbreak of the virus.
“I’m a grown man, so I’m gonna do what I wanna do,” Hill said. “If I wanna go see my family, I’m gonna go see my family. They can’t tell me I have to stay in the room 24/7. If it’s that serious, then maybe we shouldn’t be playing. It’s life. No one’s gonna be able to just cancel their whole life for this game.”
Here’s more on the COVID-19 situation:
- During the NBA’s meetings with general managers and team owners this week, there was no discussion of suspending the season due to the recent increasing number of positive coronavirus tests, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Marc Stein of The New York Times explains, one reason the NBA wants to avoid a pause is that officials think even more players would contract the virus without the league’s health and safety protocols in place.
- While the NBA has insisted it won’t cut the line for vaccines for its players and staffers, a new idea emerged on Tuesday’s call with team presidents. According to Amick, it was suggested that players could volunteer at public distribution centers and receive the vaccine in that setting while encouraging the public to follow suit. Amick expects the idea to be explored further.
- The NBA has tweaked its hardship provision to allow teams to apply to replace players who are hit hard by COVID-19 absences in addition to injuries, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. However, there are logistical challenges to bringing in new players, since they require a quarantine period before they’re cleared, so it remains to be seen how many teams will be able to actually take advantage of the rule tweak.
Wednesday’s Suns/Hawks Game Postponed
Wednesday night’s game in Phoenix between the Suns and Hawks has been postponed, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As of Tuesday night, the Suns only had one player (Jalen Smith) listed as being out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The Hawks are missing several players due to injuries, but had no players in the protocols.
However, Phoenix’s most recent game took place on Monday in Washington, and the Wizards had their Wednesday game postponed as a result of having too many players tied up in a contact tracing investigation. Sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the Wizards have positive COVID-19 tests on their roster and that the contact tracing affecting Washington has now extended to the Suns.
The total number of postponed NBA games this week is beginning to add up. After postponing a game between Houston and Oklahoma City back on December 23, the NBA was able to play all of its games as scheduled up until this Sunday, when the Celtics/Heat contest was affected.
Today’s Hawks/Suns postponement represents the sixth time since Sunday that has a game has had to be pushed back, and the seventh time in total this season. Three contests (Hawks/Suns; Celtics/Magic; and Jazz/Wizards) that were initially on the schedule for tonight won’t be played.
Michael Porter Jr. Tested Positive For COVID-19
After starting Nuggets small forward Michael Porter Jr. cleared his initial quarantine due to COVID-19 contact tracing last week, he saw his isolation window extended for an extra 10-to-14 days. The team did not disclose the reason for the new quarantine period when it was announced last week.
Tonight, head coach Michael Malone finally verified that Porter’s continued absence from the team was a result of his testing positive for the novel coronavirus, according to Kendra Andrews of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Nuggets could certainly use the 22-year-old’s contributions on the floor. After a 122-116 loss to the Nets tonight, Denver fell to 5-6 on the season and currently hold the No. 11 seed in a talented Western Conference.
Across four games, the 6’10” forward out of Missouri is averaging 19.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.5 BPG, and 1.0 SPG in 29.4 MPG during the 2020/21 season. Veteran swingman Will Barton has started in Porter’s stead thus far. Denver is next scheduled to host the Warriors in a TNT broadcast on Thursday.
Wednesday’s Jazz/Wizards Game Postponed
The NBA is postponing tomorrow’s scheduled game between the Jazz and the Wizards, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Wizards will not have the minimum eight available players needed to participate as a result of coronavirus-related contact tracing protocols, Charania notes in a separate tweet.
This announcement marks the sixth game to be postponed during the 2020/21 season’s first 23 days, as Marc Stein of the New York Times points out (via Twitter). Tomorrow’s game between the Celtics and Magic was also postponed, as was yesterday’s game between the Mavericks and the Pelicans; the Sunday game between the Heat and Celtics; today’s game between the Celtics and Bulls; and the December 23 game between the Rockets and the Thunder.
Earlier today, Washington’s practice was canceled when big men Rui Hachimura and Moritz Wagner were both placed into the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The other affected players have not been announced — it’s unclear so far whether Hachimura, Wagner, and others will be required to undergo a quarantine period of seven days or more.
The 3-8 Wizards’ last game was a 128-107 route of the 7-4 Suns on Monday.
Mavs Expected To Have Enough Players For Wednesday’s Game
4:43pm: The four Dallas players listed below (Kleber, Richardson, Finney-Smith, and Brunson) and center Dwight Powell, will miss the Hornets game on Wednesday due to the health and safety protocols, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (via Twitter).
Since reports have suggested that four Mavs players have returned positive COVID-19 tests, it seems safe to assume that all but one of those five players tested positive.
On the plus side, Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis has been listed as probable for tomorrow’s contest in Charlotte, per Stein.
4:00pm: The Mavericks‘ Monday game vs. New Orleans had to be postponed by the NBA because the league was conducting a contact tracing investigation following a positive coronavirus test and wouldn’t be able to clear enough Dallas players in time for tip-off.
However, despite the fact that four Mavericks players have reportedly registered positive COVID-19 tests, it sounds like there’s a good chance Wednesday’s game with the Hornets will be able to take place as scheduled.
Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs’ team plane took off for Charlotte this afternoon, while Marc Stein of The New York Times says (via Twitter) that Dallas is expected to have 12 players available for tomorrow’s game.
The Mavs have a full 17-man roster, so if they anticipate having 12 players available, that would suggest that only one additional player – besides the four who reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus – will remain tied up in the league’s contact tracing protocols.
We should get more clarity on the availability of Mavs players when the team releases its injury report for Wednesday’s game. While we don’t know exactly which four players tested positive for the coronavirus, reports have suggested that Maxi Kleber was among them. Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson were all self-isolating as of Friday, so it’s possible that one or more players from that trio also tested positive.
Wizards Cancel Practice As Two Players Enter Health And Safety Protocols
3:33pm: Rui Hachimura and Moritz Wagner are the two Wizards affected by the NBA’s health and safety protocols and are currently listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. Utah, as Fred Katz of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).
9:35am: The Wizards have had two players enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, according to the team, which announced this morning (via Twitter) that it has canceled today’s scheduled practice due to “an abundance of caution.”
It’s not clear which two Wizards players are affected or whether they’ll require a quarantine period. The NBA has been cagey about providing many specifics related to its health and safety protocols, but those protocols apply to players who return a positive or inconclusive COVID-19 test, as well as those who may have had close contact with someone who tested positive.
This marks the fifth straight day that a Wizards player or a player on their previous opponent entered the health and safety protocols, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). The Wizards’ opponents from Friday (Boston) and Saturday (Miami) are each missing several players due to the coronavirus protocols. Washington played the Suns on Monday night.
For now, there’s no indication that the Wizards’ Wednesday game against Utah is in jeopardy, but we’ll have to wait for additional updates on the two players in the protocols and see if any other players join them.
COVID-19 Notes: Ferguson, Arcidiacono, Markkanen, More
The Sixers have been hit hard recently by absences related to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. As of this afternoon, they’ve added a sixth player to their list of those who are out due to the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
Terrance Ferguson, who was previously sidelined for personal reasons, has apparently returned to the 76ers, but will need to undergo a quarantine period before he’s cleared to play, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN notes (Twitter links).
Despite the team finding itself shorthanded, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers isn’t sure that expanding rosters for this season is the answer, telling reporters on Monday that he “probably would not be” in favor of that solution (Twitter link via Bontemps). While having more players available might help teams reach the eight-player minimum, adding back-of-the-roster guys won’t necessarily make a shorthanded club more competitive, Rivers observed.
Here are a few more items from around the NBA related to COVID-19:
- Ryan Arcidiacono and Lauri Markkanen, who have been out since December due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, are back with the Bulls, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN (Twitter links). Both players tested negative for the coronavirus during their respective contract-tracing quarantines.
- After Shams Charania of The Athletic reported earlier this week that one player tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time in the last year, Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe of ESPN say that multiple players have now registered repeat positive tests. Although the CDC has said it expects some coronavirus reinfections, there’s uncertainty about whether that’s the case here, according to ESPN’s duo — there were higher rates of false positives early in the pandemic, meaning some players who were believed to have the virus back in the spring could have been false positives.
- Jabari Young of CNBC takes a look at the financial impact of postponed NBA games and the problems that pausing the season may cause for the league’s advertisers and partners.
- In case you missed it, the NBA and NBPA announced this afternoon that they’ve tightened a number of COVID-19 protocols that apply to players and staffers. NBPA executive director Michele Roberts told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter links) that imposing more restrictions on players isn’t ideal, but was deemed necessary. “Our experts have concluded that these new procedures will add to our arsenal of weapons against the virus,” she said. “It would be irresponsible and unacceptable to not employ new measures aimed at better promoting and protecting our players’ safety.”