The list of players currently dealing with the NBA’s health and safety protocols climbed toward 100 on Wednesday as uncertainty continued to mount about the availability of some of the league’s biggest names for the Christmas quintupleheader.
Another two games were called off, pushing the total virus-related postponements so far this season to nine. And Dallas star Luka Doncic was added to the protocols list, a strong indicator that he may not be able to play when the Mavericks face Utah as part of the NBA’s five-game Christmas lineup.
“It’s unpredictable, right? You just don’t know,” Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony said. “What we’re dealing with, it’s bigger than basketball. It’s bigger than that.”
Wednesday’s Toronto at Chicago game was postponed, as was Thursday’s Brooklyn at Portland game. The NBA said neither the Raptors nor the Nets have enough eligible players; by league rule, teams must have at least eight healthy players in uniform for a game to go forward.
Through Wednesday evening, based on team injury reports or similar disclosures, there were 95 players from 22 teams dealing with a virus-related issue. It is important to note that players can enter and exit that list quickly in some cases, some teams do not release updated numbers except when mandated by league rule, and not everyone on the list has tested positive for COVID-19.
“This seems like it’s changing by the hour,” Atlanta Coach Nate McMillan said.
The Nets have had each of their last three games postponed. The earliest they would play again is Saturday, when they’re scheduled to visit the Lakers in the fourth game on the Christmas slate.
“You just don’t know what’s going to happen, who it’s going to affect, how it’s going to affect somebody, the amount of time you will be out due to your health, what you’re feeling, the symptoms,” Anthony said. “And then on the other hand, some people don’t have symptoms. You don’t know what to do right now. I think that’s the frustrating part for everybody.”
The Nets have what is believed to be a league-high 10 players in the health and safety protocols, a list that includes Kevin Durant, James Harden and – even though he has yet to play this season – Kyrie Irving.
The 10 teams scheduled to play on Christmas – the games are Atlanta at New York, Boston at Milwaukee, Golden State at Phoenix, the Nets at the Lakers and the Mavericks at Utah – had a combined 44 players in the protocols as of early Wednesday evening.
“Obviously, teams around the league are really severely getting impacted and games are getting postponed,” Miami guard Duncan Robinson said. “It’s kind of unsurprising, in that this is the chaos that we’ve kind of come to expect over this last, whatever it’s been, year-and-a-half or something like that.”
Atlanta listed six players in the protocols on Wednesday, including guard Trae Young. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, also remained listed as out for the Bucks’ game on Thursday at Dallas, which would suggest there’s no guarantee he can play on Christmas, either.
Doncic has been ruled out of Thursday’s Dallas-Milwaukee game, along with five other Mavericks for health and safety reasons – including Trey Burke, who revealed earlier this season that he is unvaccinated. Dallas is scheduled to face Utah on Christmas.
“We want to do what we can to keep the business going, but also keep our families safe and do our part,” Suns Coach Monty Williams said. “It doesn’t seem like the virus is going anywhere, so we might as well do what we can to keep each other safe.”
The NBA has no plans to pause the season, Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this week in an interview with ESPN. But the league told teams that it would prioritize the ABC national game slots on Christmas if games are postponed that day, meaning it was reserving the right to move another game into those 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. windows.
The other game times on Christmas are noon and 10:30 p.m., both on ESPN.
“We can’t allow this to be a distraction,” McMillan said before Atlanta faced Orlando on Wednesday night. “It is, but we have to get past that. … We’re hoping that we get some negative tests here in the next couple days and guys will be available as soon as possible and certainly for (Christmas). Players dream of having that opportunity to play on Christmas Day.”
KNICKS: Derrick Rose had surgery Wednesday on his right ankle and could miss two months.
Already short-handed with six players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Knicks have now lost the former league MVP, whose arrival jump-started their run to the playoffs last season.
Rose had missed the last two games because of what the team said was ankle soreness. The Knicks announced he had a procedure on the ankle at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery and would be evaluated in eight weeks.
Rose, 33, has mostly come off the bench since arriving from Detroit in a trade last February. He finished third in voting for the NBA’s Sixth Man Award last season.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
MAGIC 104, HAWKS 98: Franz Wagner scored 25 points, Robin Lopez had 10 points and a career-high 11 assists, and visiting Orlando won a matchup of short-handed teams.
Cam Reddish finished with a season-high 36 points and John Collins had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost seven straight at home.
BUCKS 126, ROCKETS 106: Jrue Holiday scored 24 points, Khris Middleton added 23 in his return from injury and Milwaukee won at home.
Middleton missed three games because of a hyperextended left knee. The two-time All-Star played 28 minutes and had six assists.
THUNDER 108, NUGGETS 94: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his second career triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and Oklahoma City Thunder beat visiting Denver.
Gilgeous-Alexander had the first triple-double by a Thunder player at home since Russell Westbrook in the 2018-19 season.
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