Raptors face back-to-back games this week due to COVID-19 issues
It appears the Toronto Raptors COVID-19 issues aren’t resolved just yet.
The league announced Monday evening that the Raptors/detroit Pistons game, originally scheduled for Tuesday night, will now be postponed and has tentatively been rescheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. That will depend on the results of additional tests and further contact tracing. The only other remaining game on the Raptors first half schedule after Detroit is a game Thursday in Boston.
The Pistons were initially scheduled to fly to Tampa Monday afternoon, but that flight was cancelled.
The league did not announce the postponement, however, until just before 8 p.m.
Toronto’s COVID-19 issues began late last week when the team returned from their game in Miami on Wednesday.
First it was announced head coach Nick Nurse and five of his assistants would be held out of Friday’s game with Houston in accordance with the league’s health and safety protocols.
As game time approached, Pascal Siakam was added to that list.
The Raptors won the game, but Siakam, according to an ESPN report on Saturday, has already been ruled out for any remaining games before the league shuts down for the NBA Allstar break.
Toronto is the 27th of 30 teams so far in this 2020/21 season to have a game postponed because of COVID-19 issues.
Hawks fire head coach Pierce
The Atlanta Hawks fired head coach Lloyd Pierce after two-plus seasons, the team announced Monday.
Atlanta will name Nate Mcmillan as interim coach, ESPN reported. Mcmillan most recently coached the Indiana Pacers, who fired him in August.
Pierce, hired in May 2018, went 63-120 in 183 games. It was his first head coaching stint.
The Hawks are currently 14-20 and sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Hawks finished 20-47 last season, fourth worst in the league.
Mcmillan will take over on an interim role with a career record of 661-588 for a .529 winning percentage. He has coached in Seattle, Portland and Indiana.
Lakers will be OK, says Davis
The reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers are dealing with adversity for the first time this season given a slump that has coincided with an injury to Anthony Davis, but the Allstar forward said nobody was reaching for the panic button.
Davis, the Lakers’ second-leading scorer behind Lebron James, suffered a calf strain on Feb. 14 that will keep him sidelined until around mid-march and the team have gone 2-4 during his absence.
“Obviously it’s frustrating that we are losing and we want to win, we want to win every game but it’s a time for us to get better and fix the things we need to fix,” Davis told Reuters in a video interview.
“We are not at all rattled or worried.”
The injury to Davis left a huge hole in the lineup that was compounded by the absence of starting point guard Dennis Schroder, who returned to action only last Friday after missing four games due to the NBA’S health and safety protocols.
While Schroder’s return provided a boost during a pair of wins over the weekend, carrying on for an extended stretch without Davis will undoubtedly prove challenging.
Davis said every championship team had the added pressure of facing each opponent’s best effort every night.
“We’ve had games this year where we play a team and they shoot lights out, don’t miss a shot, and then the following game they don’t make a shot,” said Davis.
“It comes with the territory. When you are the defending champion it’s a lot harder to repeat, the target on your back is a lot bigger and every team wants to beat the champs.”
Despite not being able to compete, Davis has managed to remain very involved with the team and can be seen on the sidelines during games helping his team mates to break down video replays during stoppages in play.
“Injuries are part of the game so I have to do the best I can to help the team off the floor at this time but it’s tough. You want to be in the fight with the guys,” said Davis, adding that he was feeling better each day.
“But we’ll figure it out. We’ll figure this out and get back going on the path that everyone is used to with the Lakers.”