NBA Postpones Five Games Due To COVID-19 Issues

Amid a surge of players and coaches being added to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, the NBA is postponing five games over the next three days. 

“The next games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the next two games for the Brooklyn Nets, have been postponed because of players and staff members entering the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols,” the NBA said in a statement. 

On Sunday, the Denver vs Brooklyn, Cleveland vs Atlanta, and the New Orleans vs Philadelphia games were postponed, with the Orlando vs Toronto game on Monday night, and the Washington vs Brooklyn game on Tuesday also being postponed. 

The NBA has announced the following: pic.twitter.com/rnNhuq0hc1

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 19, 2021

The Nets currently have 10 players in protocols, including stars Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. 

On Friday, the Nets announced that Irving will be allowed to return to the team as a part-time player, eligible to play in Brooklyn’s road games outside of the state of New York. Irving has yet to play in a game this season due to local rules that require professional athletes to be vaccinated in order to play indoors.

On Saturday, Nets general manager Sean Marks explained the decision to allow Irving to play in road games, a few months after saying the organization would not “permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.”

“Several months ago, we made a decision that was based around what was best for the team,” Marks said via CBS Sports. “What was best for the team at that point was continuity. And I think we all see that continuity right now over the course of the last week and whatever the future looks like may be out of the window for a while, and we’re going to navigate that as best we can.”

“At the end of the day, we’re sitting here faced with a roster that has been decimated over the course of the last several days,” Marks continued. “And I’m forced to make decisions, and I don’t make those decisions by myself — we collaborate, like I mentioned before — but in essence, this is the best decision for this team at this juncture right now, with what we’re dealing with.”

Irving was placed in COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols on Saturday.

On Sunday, five members of the Cleveland Cavaliers were placed in health and safety protocols, including star center Jarrett Allen. Sunday morning, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Cavaliers were dealing with a COVID outbreak, and the fear was that they would be unable to have the league minimum eight players available for Sunday’s game against Atlanta. 

The NBA has now postponed seven games this season, with two Chicago Bulls games postponed last week due to ten Chicago players being placed in the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols. 

“The Chicago Bulls’ next two games — Tuesday, Dec. 14 against the Detroit Pistons and Thursday, Dec. 16 against Toronto — have been postponed,” the NBA said in a statement. “Ten Bulls players, along with additional staff members, are currently in the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols.”

The NBA is not the sole league being impacted by COVID. The NFL moved Saturday’s game between the Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Raiders to Monday night, while Sunday’s Washington Football Team vs Philadelphia Eagles game, as well as the matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams were moved to Tuesday. 

According to NHL.com, the league has postponed 29 games this season, and have now shut down multiple teams through Christmas.

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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