The NBA has not been immune to the impact of this winter's surge in COVID-19 cases. Players continue to test positive for the virus, which in turn forces teammates that have come into contact with those players to sit out. Every team in the NBA has been affected either directly or indirectly thus far this season, with the biggest consequence being the league's recent rash of postponed games.
On Monday, the league postponed Tuesday's game between the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons as Toronto doesn't have the league-required eight players due to positive test results and ongoing contract tracing within the organization, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. That game has been tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday
That brings the league's total so far this season up to 30 postponements, with more almost certain to come.
- Dec. 23: Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets
- Jan. 10: Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
- Jan. 11: New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks
- Jan. 12: Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
- Jan. 13: Utah Jazz at Washington Wizards
- Jan. 13: Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics
- Jan. 13: Atlanta Hawks at Phoenix Suns
- Jan. 15: Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons
- Jan. 15: Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
- Jan. 15: Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Jan. 16: Indiana Pacers at Phoenix Suns
- Jan. 17: Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
- Jan. 17: Philadelphia 76ers at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Jan. 18: Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
- Jan. 20: Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets
- Jan. 20: Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
- Jan. 22: Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks
- Jan. 22: Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
- Jan. 24: Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
- Jan. 25: Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies
- Jan. 25: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
- Jan. 27: Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies
- Feb. 1: Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
- Feb. 16: San Antonio Spurs at Detroit Pistons
- Feb. 17: San Antonio Spurs at Cleveland Cavaliers
- Feb. 17: Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets
- Feb. 19: Denver Nuggets at Charlotte Hornets
- Feb. 20: San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
- Feb. 22: San Antonio Spurs at Indiana Pacers
- Feb. 28: Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
- March 2: Detroit Pistons at Toronto Raptors
Last season, the NBA managed to make its way through the playoffs by playing in a bubble at Disney World in Orlando. To this point, going back to that arrangement has not reported as a possibility, and players have been adamant about their refusal to even consider the idea. LeBron James even cited PTSD when asked about potentially playing in a bubble again.
But as the league has seen, playing in standard environments has proven exceedingly difficult. Their COVID-19 protocols were updated in an effort to prevent further spread of the virus within the league, but that, too has seen pushback from players. So far, the NBA has not considered pausing the season, but should the virus continue to make playing games untenable, that is a solution the league may need to consider.
