COVID-19 continues to disrupt the NBA schedule, leading to another postponed game. Following a week riddled with cancellations, the league scrapped the Sunday night matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena shortly before the game was supposed to start. The NBA cited a lack of available players on the Philadelphia roster as the reason for the delay. This marks the 15th game to be pushed back in the opening month of the season.
The NBA has delayed one more game this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league, following seven days loaded with various postponements, canceled the Philadelphia 76ers’ matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena only hours before it was set to tip on Sunday night. The NBA stated that the 76ers didn’t have the necessary number of players accessible to partake in the challenge. Presently, this has expanded the number of games the league has deferred so far to 15 in the first month of this NBA season.
In a recent announcement, the NBA clarified that the Sixers were unable to meet the league's minimum requirement of eight active players for the game against the Thunder due to ongoing contact tracing protocols.
The 76ers' roster was hit hard, with Joel Embiid, Seth Curry, Vincent Poirier, and Mike Scott all unable to make the trip to Oklahoma City. Additionally, ESPN indicated that six more players were placed in health and safety protocols. This situation likely traces back to their 106-104 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, a game where Philadelphia had to struggle through with only nine available players. Looking ahead, the Sixers are scheduled to face the Boston Celtics at home this coming Wednesday.
This particular postponement is the 14th of its kind in a season that hasn't even been running for a month, with nearly all of these delays occurring in the last seven days. To combat the spread, the NBA introduced stricter health and safety guidelines on Tuesday, emphasizing the use of masks and requiring players and coaching staff to remain isolated when not competing. These measures come as the U.S. faces a surge in infections; The New York Times reported over 201,000 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with national daily averages exceeding 224,000 cases and 3,300 deaths.
On Friday, the NBA also postponed a two-game series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards, which was set for Sunday and Monday in D.C. This was due to contact tracing within the Wizards' organization, which left them without the eight players necessary to compete against Cleveland.
Monday in D.C. On account of continuous contact following inside the Wizards which left them with a league-required eight available players to play against Cleveland.