The Chicago Bulls have been no stranger to COVID-19 problems this season, but the virus has yet to force the team to miss any scheduled action until now.
The league announced on Monday that they would cancel two upcoming NBA games, including the Pelicans-Mavericks contest tonight and the Bulls-Celtics matchup tomorrow.
Celtics at Bulls postponed. pic.twitter.com/1NYnp4pK5i
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 11, 2021
Despite the Bulls missing Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono due to contact tracing, as well as Chandler Hutchison and Tomas Satoransky due to positive COVID-19 tests, the reason for the cancellation is not due to Chicago’s troubles.
Instead, the Boston Celtics are monitoring the potential of a full-blown outbreak. The organization currently has seven players out due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Tristan Thompson, Semi Ojeleye, and Javonte Green. Tatum and one other player have reportedly been the only two to test positive for the virus thus far. The Celtics also had their game canceled this weekend against the Heat due to Miami’s own issues with an inconclusive test, which ultimately left the team without the NBA’s necessary eight dressed players.
In total, the league has now been forced to suspend four games, while numerous other teams have had to play drastically short-handed. The Bulls are just one example of a team that has been forced to play shorthanded this season, but we also recently saw the Philadelphia 76ers play without half their roster, as only eight players were available for their game against the Denver Nuggets this weekend.
There is no denying that the league’s plans to orchestrate this season outside of a bubble are turning increasingly sour. Sure, positive tests were anticipated, and that’s why the league decided to do their schedule in two parts, but the current trajectory looks arguably more disastrous than they anticipated (Michael: Note, however, that the MLB and NFL had significant early road bumps, before correcting course in the second-halves of their seasons).
In any case, as of now, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has no plans to pause the season, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, but it does appear that after this latest round of postponements that the league’s GM’s will meet to discuss how to proceed.
The NBA's general managers have a conference call set today to discuss these issues with league today too, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/RtAvacSLmO
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 11, 2021
As one GM tells ESPN in story: "They tell us it'll be better later in the season, but I just hope this doesn't break the league in the next few weeks." https://t.co/55xFE3xTf3
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 11, 2021
Stay tuned.
UPDATE (Michael): The league has set a special meeting tomorrow for the Board of Governors, during which I suspect they’ll create stricter guidelines and plan what comes next.
The NBA has set a special Board of Governors meeting for Tuesday, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 11, 2021