Expresso Platform: Big Games | Matches postponed, players locked up, Christmas at risk: Covid-19 attacks the NBA and imposes new rules

While on this side of the ocean, many cases of COVID-19 have been recorded among football players and technical teams, on the other side the problem is bigger in basketball. Just last Sunday, the NBA was forced to postpone five games, considering the growing number of players in confinement. Something that has already forced the league to find new solutions for clubs.

Three of the five postponed games were scheduled for last Sunday: Denver Nuggets-Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers-Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans-Philadelphia 76ers. There was also a game scheduled for Monday between the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors, and another game scheduled for next Tuesday between the Washington Wizards and Nets. But this is not the first of the season. The Chicago Bulls saw two of their games postponed.

Brooklyn is still where the problem is bigger. The team has 10 players built into safety protocols against covid-19: “These are unforeseen circumstances and I hate to say it, but it feels like we went back six months, or a year ago, unfortunately with cases increasing,” said Sean Marks, general manager. The Nets, The Associated Press.

The group of players includes Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Diner Pembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, Paul Millsap, James Johnson and Daron Sharp.

Durant was one of the last to join this group and the need to keep the player on the field for most of the match, when many of them were already absent, prompted the club to call in Irving to at least reinforce their away matches. Homepage. The player missed the start of the season due to the rule in New York that prohibits unvaccinated people from entering sports stadiums. The player refused the vaccination.

But even before returning, Irving and the Nets knew the player should be included in the aforementioned group. This does not mean that he has tested positive for covid-19, as the protocol also requires that anyone who has been in contact with a positive case be removed.

In Cleveland is another focus of the problem. Just this past Sunday morning, five players tested positive: Garrett Allen, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Wendler, Denzel Valentine and RJ Nymbard. In addition, they are also integrated into the security protocol of Evan Mobley and Isaak Okoro.

The Sacramento Kings, the Portuguese side, Nemeas-Quetta, did not escape this wave. And last Sunday’s game, against the San Antonio Spurs, the coach did not have seven players, six of them due to security measures. The Portuguese publication was called up to the team due to these absences and has already been an option in one of the two matches played since then.

And the list goes on: Giannis Antikonmo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Tra Young of the Hawks, and Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors. At the end of last Sunday, there were already talks of about 80 players and coaches in isolation. The total number was not updated on Monday, but the trend has been growth.

To respond to this problem, the league that created a ‘bubble’ in 2020, a venue with many areas that kept teams isolated until the season interrupted by the pandemic ends, has been forced to change the rules around hiring replacement players.

This was confirmed by Shams Charania, a journalist at The Athletic, who announced that teams would be allowed to sign a replacement player for each contracted player who tested positive for covid-19. The league also requires teams to sign at least one player after two players test positive. If there are three positive cases, they will have to sign at least two players, and when there are four or more positive tests, they must include at least three substitutes. However, if the team manages to put 13 players on the wing, these actions will not be necessary.

According to Charanya, these rules are effective from January 19th. But before that, the NBA’s Christmas season matches are being played, and it’s one of the most anticipated times for sports fans. The question at the moment is whether there will be games, and if so, who will be the players available to play.