The regular season meeting of NBA scheduled for Monday between Dallas and New Orleans and that between Chicago and Boston scheduled for Tuesday have been postponed to a later date, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NBA announced Monday.
“These decisions result from the health and safety protocol”, which is to be updated on Monday at a meeting between the league and the players’ union (NBPA).
The reason for these postponements is that the Mavericks and Celtics do not have eight players available, the minimum required by the NBA, to play their matches.
The Dallas franchise had to shut down its facilities on Sunday after three of its players, Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson tested positive for the coronavirus. A large part of their teammates being potentially their contact cases, they also have to observe a quarantine and the team does not have enough players to line up.
Same scenario in Boston, where young star Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have also contracted Covid-19. Sunday, the Celtics still thought to receive Miami with eight qualified players, but it is in the ranks of the Heat that we did not arrive at this minimum number.
Still no reprogramming
For three weeks since the season began, on December 22, four matches have now been postponed. The first was Houston-Oklahoma City, for the same reason, the Rockets not having enough players available.
None of these meetings has yet been rescheduled. The NBA has knowingly split its season into two parts, the schedule for the first until March 4 having been unveiled, but not that of the second supposed to start on the 10 after a six-day break.
In doing so, the league has given itself the possibility of rescheduling any matches postponed from the first part of the season to the second or even during the break.
“We had anticipated that there would be postponements of matches and planned the schedule accordingly. There are no plans to interrupt the championship and we will continue to be guided by our medical experts ”NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Sunday, interviewed by ESPN.
According to the media, concern about this situation, caused by the still galloping pandemic in the United States, is growing with clubs and a telephone meeting is to take place on Monday between their general managers and the league.
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