League postpones two Bulls games with 10 players in COVID-19 protocols

With the Chicago Bulls facing a covid-19 outbreak that landed 10 players and additional team employees in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the league announced Monday its first two postponements of the 2021-22 season.

Chicago, which sits third in the East standings with a 17-10 record, had lost its last two games by double digits as key players began entering the protocols. As of Monday, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, among others, were all sidelined for health and safety reasons. Multiple members of the Bulls broadcast team were also in home isolation.

The Bulls’ home game against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and its road game against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday have both been postponed, marking the first time that the NBA’s schedule has been disrupted by covid-19 since February. After shortening its schedules for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons due to the pandemic, the NBA played the entire 2021 playoffs and nearly two months of the 2021-22 season without any covid-related postponements. Last year, the NBA was forced to postpone more than 30 regular season games.

The NBA reinstituted regular testing for fully vaccinated players last month in an effort to combat spread that might result from Thanksgiving travel and family contact. That testing program briefly sidelined Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James due to a false positive test, while more than 20 players are currently in the covid-19 protocols, including Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and five members of the Charlotte Hornets.