Pistons game moved a day
NBA shifts game to Wednesday, hoping to get it in before the break
The NBA is trying its best to get in as many Raptors games this week as possible.
Pending further COVID-19 test results for members of the team, Toronto’s game against Detroit, scheduled for Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., has been moved to Wednesday night.
“The game is being postponed (Tuesday) due to positive test results and ongoing contact tracing within the Raptors organization,” the league said.
If the game, now scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, can be played and the Raptors can finish off the first half of the regular season as scheduled in Boston on Thursday, they will have only one game to make up when the season resumes after the all-star break.
The Raptors had a game postponed for the first time this season when Sunday’s contest against Chicago was put off until sometime after the season resumes March 11.
The league said Sunday’s postponement was because Toronto wouldn’t have had the required eight players to dress for the game because of a combination of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing needs.
There is still no clear indication how many Raptors players or coaches have tested positive for COVID-19 and who is in isolation because of close contact with someone who has the coronavirus.
Players or coaches who return a positive test have to sit out at least 10 days and have two days of workout time that must include negative test results before they are allowed to take part in games.
The period of quarantine is shorter for those who return negative tests after being in close contact with someone who has the virus.
Whenever the Raptors play again, the matter of finding nights to fit any postponed games into a jammed second half of the NBA schedule is going to be difficult for the NBA.
The Raptors have only two days between games on six occasions over the second half of the season, which runs from March 11 to May 16. Finding mutual nights where the Bulls and perhaps the Pistons are also off may prove impossible, bringing up the very real possibility of having to play on three or even four consecutive nights.
That grind — and that’s presuming no other postponements the rest of the season — would mean the Raptors would have to rest key players for some games, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse spoke about the need to rest players even before the possibility of a busier schedule.
“The goal is going to be at some point — hopefully, if we can stay in this playoff race — that you're going to want to have your bodies healthy at the end of the year and fresh somewhat, so I think that's going to take some thought,” he said last week.
The crowded middle of the Eastern Conference standings will also add to the stress of the second half of the season.
Only three-and-a-half games separated fourth-place New York from 12th-place Washington on Monday afternoon, with the Raptors in a three-way tie with Miami and Boston for fifth.
An extended losing streak, if it is made worse by key players needing games off for rest, could be costly in playoff seeding, if not participation, for the Raptors.