NBA Takes…with Teresa – A serious look at Covid-19 in the league
This week NBA Takes means business with a serious look at how Covid-19 is affecting the league.
On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the United States has over 22.8M coronavirus cases with over 385,000 deaths. This week I want to talk about what the NBA is doing to keep their players safe and their season intact and will it save the season.
The league’s previous protocol was lax when it came away games. For example, at the beginning of the season, they allowed visitors to player’s hotel rooms, whether it was family or long-term relationships.
How do you make the NBA pay attention to something? Hit them in the wallet. More games are postponed as an increasing number of players go into quarantine for either infections or contact tracing. No games and missing superstars dent the ratings which in turn hurts the product.
Postponed games
From the season’s start in December to mid-January, the NBA had to postpone the following games:
- Dec 23: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
- Jan 10: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtic
- Jan 11: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Chicago Bulls
- Jan 13: Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics
- Jan 13: Utah Jazz vs. Washington Wizards
- Jan 13: Atlanta Hawks vs. Phoenix Suns
- Jan 15: Washington Wizards vs. Detroit Pistons
- Jan 15: Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
NBA cancels 4th game in 4 days, with Wednesday’s Boston & Orlando game ppd due to Celtics not having enough players due to covid. 3 of the 4 games have been Boston games. @KNX1070
— Randy Kerdoon (@RandyKerdoon) January 12, 2021
There could have been more. Philly only had seven players for their January 9 game against Denver. They had to dress injured Mike Scott to reach the minimum eight and not forfeit., even though he couldn’t play.
As a result, the league tightened up its protocols.