COVID-19 continues to disrupt the NBA landscape with another two postponements. The Dallas Mavericks’ and New Orleans Pelicans’ Monday-night contest and the Boston Celtics’ matchup with the Chicago Bulls, scheduled for Tuesday night, both have been postponed, the NBA announced Monday:
NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2021 – The National Basketball Association games scheduled for tonight between the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena and tomorrow between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls at United Center have been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
The NBA and NBPA will be meeting today about modifying the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
As the United States slowly rolls out vaccines, even the NBA elites fall behind on the shortlist for eligibility. As the league continues to implement the COVID-19 tracing protocol, more players find themselves sitting out games.
Before Saturday’s game with the Orlando Magic, the Dallas Mavericks had their first experience with the league’s COVID-19 contact tracing system. Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith were forced to miss their first game of the season.
In light of Dallas shutting down its practice facility due to two positive test results, the aforementioned players are currently in quarantine. While speculation of the NBA without the bubble’s protection rises, Adam Silver believes the league will see brighter days in February.
Missing three rotation players for a seven-ten day stretch spells trouble regarding the Western Conference standings. Although, sadly, other teams face the same plight.
Dallas’ next game is Wednesday, versus the Charlotte Hornets. The status of the game is still up in the air.
The Celtics’ previous game, scheduled for last Sunday against the Miami Heat, also was postponed.
Boston’s injury report is … long pic.twitter.com/clorRkKbLe
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) January 9, 2021
