Booster Day amid new guidelines
DENVER — There’s no game in Chicago on Tuesday, no trip for the Bulls to Toronto for another on Thursday.
Just like that, the coronavirus has disrupted the day-to-day operations of the NBA.
The Bulls are shut down for what will be at least a few days with 10 players in health and safety protocols. But the effect is not limited to Chicago.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle is missing some games, the Brooklyn Nets will be without seven players, including James Harden and Lamarcus Aldridge, for their home game Tuesday against Toronto because of the protocols and Raptors President Masai Ujiri tested positive after hosting an event that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum attended and have needed to undergo daily testing since. It’s not just players and executives, either, but officials and broadcast teams, too.
This all underscores what NBA officials have been saying for weeks: The pandemic is still very much a problem and that’s why Friday is such a priority. Friday is Booster Day, when the league’s most important percentage won’t be of the 3-point variety.
The current data from the NBA indicates more than 60 percent of players have gotten their booster shots. Under the new guidelines, that potentially means somewhere around 150 players would now be subject to daily testing again.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have been
urging players and staff to get their coronavirus booster shot for the past several weeks. On Friday, the latest league guidelines will be implemented.
Lately, there have been plenty of stark reminders this pandemic is far from over and won’t be going away anytime soon. In addition to depleted rosters for the Bulls and Nets, along with Carlisle remaining sidelined due to health and safety protocols, Indiana and Toronto recently had to scrap some practices, just in case, and other teams have undergone additional testing to ensure that they’re safe.
The Pacers and Warriors had only two officials for Monday night’s game, with the third in health and safety protocols. The Raptors announced their broadcast team will selfisolate out of precaution
after contact with someone who tested positive.
Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce succinctly summed up the current state of the pandemic while filling in for Carlisle last Friday when he said it is “always joyful when you just get to the court. … With the state of COVID, there’s always something going on.”
One provision of the new league booster guidelines states that a team staffer who doesn’t have their booster shot by Friday — with limited exceptions — will no longer have the ability to have in-person access with players, coaches and referees. Plus, the staffer will be banned from joining their clubs on road trips.
As for the players who haven’t received their booster, they will be subject to game-day testing again, and the league will reserve the right to impose additional testing on their respective teams as needed going forward.
Ujiri announced he was among those who tested positive for the virus after he recently went to his charity event. In a statement from the team, Ujiri said: “We don’t want to live in fear of this virus, but COVID is a persistent enemy. Together, we’ll defeat it.”
Lakers cancel Tuesday practice
The Los Angeles Lakers canceled a scheduled practice Tuesday because of COVID-19 concerns related to the NBA’S health and safety protocols, a team spokesperson said.
Talen Horton-tucker entered the league’s protocols Tuesday. The 21-yearold is coming off a 19point, six-steal performance in the Lakers’ win against Orlando on Sunday. He missed 13 games to open the season after having surgery in October to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb.
The team is scheduled to leave later in the day for Dallas to begin a threegame road trip on Wednesday against the Mavericks.
Teams around the NBA are dealing with spikes in positive cases, with the league postponing two Chicago Bulls games this week after the team had 10 players enter the COVID-19 protocols. They are the first games to be moved this season because of the virus.
Fully vaccinated players enter the health and safety protocols with a positive or inconclusive test. The Bulls, along with the Lakers, have said they’re fully vaccinated.