NBA, union stiffen virus protocols

Keeping an eye on the world of sports during the pandemic:

With four games called off this week already, the league and its players’ association enacts additional rules that are similar to what existed in the restart bubble last year.

With four games called off this week already and more teams dealing with virus-related issues, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association enacted additional rules Tuesday in the hope of keeping the season going safely.

For “at least the next two weeks,” the league and union said, players and team staff will have to remain at their residence when in their home markets and are prohibited from leaving their hotels when on the road — with exceptions for practices and games.

“I’m all for anything we possibly can do to ramp up the safety,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team had the NBA-minimum eight players in Philadelphia on Tuesday, mising eight for COVID-related reasons and another with injury. “Just because we want to proceed with our profession doesn’t mean that there isn’t a reality of what’s going on in the world. The virus is still very much out there.”

The Magic’s game tonight in Boston is off, the fourth postponement since Sunday and the third involving the Celtics.

All that is permitted in home markets, for now, is “to attend team-related activities at the team facility or arena, exercise outside, or perform essential activities,” the league and union said. On the road, team activities and emergencies are the only allowable reasons for leaving hotels.

When teams started testing in late November prior to the start of training camps, 48 players had positive COVID-19 tests. In the last four weeks, the league has seen a total of seven players test positive, part of the reason why the NBA and its governors haven’t seen reason to pause the season.

Additional actions taken Tuesday include a new rule prohibiting any pregame meetings in locker rooms from lasting more than 10 minutes, and when those meetings take place everyone involved must wear a mask. Meetings in larger areas, such as courts, must take place with adherence to social distancing and with masks.

Players now have to limit pre-game and in-game interactions with fellow players to elbow or fist bumps, with no extended socializing. And when a player is subbed out of a game, he can sit in a “cool down chair” without a mask — but must put a mask on when he returns to the bench and sits in his assigned seat.

The Wizards said Tuesday that two of their players are now dealing with the league’s protocols; that raised the number of players leaguewide who have addressed some sort of virus-related issue in the past week to at least 36, based on information released by teams. Most of those are believed to be related to contact tracing, not positive tests.

“This is real life, COVID-19, and taking the precautions and taking the protocols seriously is the most important thing,” Minnesota coach Ryan Saunders said.