Can pausing season help NBA navigate COVID surge among players?
The COVID pandemic has wreaked havoc on everyone and everything, and there are no signs that things are getting much better.
Sports are a microcosm of society, and as the number of positive tests increases in the wake of the new omicron variant and its rampant spread around the country, the sports teams are seeing the same type of spread. Every day brings a new list of players who are entering the various health and safety protocols for their particular leagues.
The NBA has had more than 110 players enter the protocols in December, and commissioner Adam Silver said that more than 90% of those cases are the omicron strain. The Pistons, who hadn’t had a player in the protocols this season, have been hit hard this week. As of Sunday, eight players had been sidelined: Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saben Lee, Rodney McGruder, Trey Lyles, Cory Joseph and Josh Jackson.
The Pistons (5-26) were expected to have nine healthy players available ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. A tumultuous season that’s been sidetracked by injuries to many of their top players has gotten progressively worse. It’s not just the Pistons. On their marquee TV day of the season, the NBA was missing many of its top stars, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic and Trae Young, all of whom were in health and safety protocols. Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from the protocols on Saturday in time to play against the Boston Celtics.
Silver said that there aren’t
any plans to postpone games and pause the season in the midst of the widespread cases. Before the season, the NBA had laid out contingency plans and played through scenarios of what could happen in just such a case.
“We've looked at all the options, but frankly, we're having trouble coming up with what the logic would be with pausing right now,” Silver said on ESPN'S “NBA Today” show.
Thankfully, most players are vaccinated — according to Silver, it's 97%, with 65% of players having the booster shot as well — so most of those impacted are not experiencing severe symptoms.
One has to wonder whether pausing the season for a few days would help cleanse some of the spreading issues, such as what the Pistons are experiencing. It's unclear when the issues started for the Pistons, but with Cunningham as the first player impacted, it was hard to contain the spread after that.
That's the risk in the league having the games go on without some kind of pause. Yes, players and staff members are wearing masks, and the high vaccination numbers have kept things from getting worse. The omicron variant, though, has put things on edge.
Rosters around the league are chock full of G League players on 10-day hardship contracts, as many of the regulars have been sidelined for the short term. There have been so many G League callups that the league moved the start of its regular season back from Dec. 27 to Jan. 5.
Given a couple of weeks, things could get back to some sort of pseudo-normal, but what happens with the next wave? What if there's another variant — wherever we end up in the Greek alphabet — that is a bit worse?
The games will go on. That's the path forward, at least for now. Four Pistons observations Here are some quick takeaways from the Pistons last week:
1. Trey Lyles has surpassed expectations this season. After joining the Pistons in free agency, Lyles was projected to be a backup power forward who could help stretch the floor. He's done that and more. His 3-point shooting has been OK, but his biggest impact has been as a backup center, where his rebounding has been a big boost in Kelly Olynyk's — and now Jerami Grant's — absence. He had a career-high 28 points on Thursday before going into the health and safety protocols.
2. Give Hamidou Diallo his due. Diallo has taken advantage of his opportunities since joining the starting lineup, with 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, and he's shooting 33% on 3-pointers. Diallo has found spots in the defense where he could capitalize on his athleticism and get to the rim, where he can do more damage. This stint could go a long way in determining his longterm future with the team.
3. Saddiq Bey is answering the call. With Grant sidelined and then after Cunningham's entry into the protocols, the Pistons have needed a scoring boost, and Bey has been there. He's had some impressive numbers in his last five games: 23 points, seven rebounds and 3.6 assists, while boosting his 3-point shooting to 38%.
4. It's Luka Garza time. The rookie center has had some opportunities in smaller chunks of minutes to be impactful, but with so many of the other big men in COVID protocols, Garza is the projected starter and should be able to play a ton of minutes. That doesn't mean he'll be successful in them all, but he'll have a chance to show that he's made progress in some of the things he's been working on this season, especially on the defensive end.