NBA postpones Wednesday's Celtics-Magic, Wizards-Jazz games as COVID-19 issues continue
For the third day in a row, the NBA has been forced to postpone at least one game because of COVID-19 issues.
The Boston Celtics announced early Tuesday that their game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday has been postponed. Later Tuesday, the NBA announced that Wednesday’s game between the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards game will also be postponed. The Wizards don’t have enough players to field a team because of contact tracing.
Wednesday’s is the third Celtics game in a row that has been postponed. Their game against the Miami Heat was postponed on Sunday because Miami reportedly didn’t have the required number of players due to contact tracing (though the Celtics were one player away from being in the same position). The Celtics’ Tuesday and Wednesday games were postponed because the Celtics reportedly don’t have the required number of players.
It’s possible that the Celtics could have a fourth straight game postponed. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that their Friday game against the Magic is also in jeopardy.
The Magic and Celtics were scheduled to play Wednesday and Friday in Boston, but Magic won't be traveling today, sources tell ESPN. It is immediately unclear the status of the Friday game, but sources say Wednesday's game has been postponed.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2021
Out of the five games the NBA has postponed, the Celtics have been involved in three of them. However, numerous teams are struggling with COVID-19 issues. Rosters are thin due to contact tracing, injuries are piling up, team health officials are overwhelmed, and things won’t get any easier if adjustments to the NBA’s health and safety protocols aren’t made.
The NBA and NBPA are reportedly considering adjustments to the protocols in a meeting on Tuesday. According to Wojnarowski, the two parties are discussing a two-week period with heightened restrictions.
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