COVID-19 Rumors | Hoops Rumors

2021/22 NBA Game Postponement Tracker

December 23rd, 2021 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, the NBA waited until midway through the season to finalize its schedule for the second half, recognizing the need to be flexible and to account for postponements. Sure enough, more than 30 games were eventually needed to be rescheduled, primarily due to complications related to COVID-19.

Heading into 2021/22, there was a hope that fewer – if any – postponements would be required. The league released its entire schedule at once and made it through most of the first two months of the regular season without having any games affected by COVID-19 outbreaks.

However, that has changed as of late. So, with the number of postponements beginning to add up, we’re creating a space to track them all. The full list of postponed 2021/22 games is below. Once the NBA announces plans to reschedule these contests, we’ll add those details to our breakdown.

This tracker will continue to be updated throughout the ’21/22 league year, and can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.

Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls

Original date: December 14, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Bulls were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: January 11, 2022

Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors

Original date: December 16, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Bulls were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: February 3, 2022

New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers

Original date: December 19, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Sixers were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: January 25, 2022

Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks

Original date: December 19, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Cavaliers were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: March 31, 2022

Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets

Original date: December 19, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Nets were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: January 26, 2022

Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors

Original date: December 20, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Magic were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: March 4, 2022

Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets

Original date: December 21, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Nets were affected by a COVID-19 outbreak.
New date: February 17, 2022

Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls

Original date: December 22, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Raptors didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
New date: January 26, 2022

Brooklyn Nets at Portland Trail Blazers

Original date: December 23, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Nets didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
New date: January 10, 2022

Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs

Original date: December 29, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Heat didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
New date: February 3, 2022

Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets

Original date: December 30, 2021
Reason for postponement: The Nuggets didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
New date: March 7, 2022

Mavericks Sign Charlie Brown Jr. To 10-Day Contract

December 23rd, 2021 at 12:28pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

DECEMBER 23: The Mavericks have officially signed Brown to a 10-day deal, the team announced today (via Twitter). The team has now finalized three hardship signings this week and has two more (Brandon Knight and Carlik Jones) reportedly on tap.

DECEMBER 21: Valuable Mavericks swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. is now in the league’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Given that Hardaway is the fourth Maverick to be placed into COVID-19 protocols in the last four days, the Mavericks will ink shooting guard Charlie Brown Jr. to a 10-day contract via the league’s hardship exemption, Charania tweets.

Brown is currently with the NBAGL’s Delaware Blue Coats. Across two NBA seasons, he has appeared in 19 games between the Hawks in 2019/20 and the Thunder in 2020/21. He holds career averages of 3.2 PPG and 1.1 RPG.

The 23-year-old shooting guard out of Saint Joseph’s is averaging 16.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, and 0.9 BPG in 11 starts this season with the Blue Coats, on shooting splits of .457/.400/.850.

Dallas re-signed Hardaway this past summer to a four-year, $75MM contract. In 29 contests for the Mavericks, including 20 starts, the 29-year-old out of Michigan is averaging 14.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.4 APG and 1.0 SPG. The 6’5″ guard has had an inconsistent shooting season from the floor and has seen his numbers dip at the charity stripe, with splits of .391/.332/.743.

COVID-19 Notes: Freedom, McClaughlin, Kings, Vaccines

December 23rd, 2021 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Freedom was out of the rotation during the first month of the season, but had appeared in 19 straight games for Boston and even played 40 minutes in his first start of the season on Monday vs. Philadelphia.

As our tracker shows, the Celtics now have eight players in the COVID-19 protocols. They’re probably still a few days away from some of those players returning, since all of them have entered the protocols in the last week.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates:

Mavericks two-way player JaQuori McLaughlin has entered the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link). McLaughlin joins Luka Doncic and five other teammates — Dallas has had to place seven players in the protocols in the last six days.
In a well-reported story on the impact of the NBA’s COVID-19 surge, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Baxter Holmes share a number of interesting anecdotes, including how both Kings equipment managers contracted COVID-19 and couldn’t work, forcing the team to temporarily transfer those duties to a video room intern and a game-night attendant.
Within that ESPN story, Wojnarowski and Holmes say that some team executives around the league believe asymptomatic players should be allowed to play, but that idea is a “non-starter” for now in the eyes of NBA and NBPA leadership. ESPN’s duo also reports that almost one-third of the NBA’s vaccinated players initially received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which offers a lower level of protection than the Pfizer or Moderna shots.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Becomes First Pelican To Enter Protocols

December 23rd, 2021 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Third-year guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, becoming the first Pelicans player to do so this season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Assuming Alexander-Walker registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, he’ll remain in the protocols for 10 days or until he can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Alexander-Walker has struggled with his shot this season, making just 37.2% of his attempts from the floor (including 31.9% of his threes) through 32 games. However, the 23-year-old is coming off perhaps his best game of the season, so the timing of his entry into the protocols is unfortunate — he scored 27 points in 26 minutes on 10-of-16 shooting on Tuesday in a win over Portland.

New Orleans had been just one of eight teams without a player in the protocols. The Rockets, Pacers, Thunder, Suns, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Jazz make up the rest of that group.

Several times this month, we’ve seen one positive test lead to a flurry of additional positives, so it’s possible Alexander-Walker won’t be the last Pelican to be affected — hopefully the team can avoid an outbreak.

Eastern Notes: Barrett, Cousins, Fall, Wizards

December 23rd, 2021 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

RJ Barrett has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Knicks announced today (via Twitter). The news comes on the heels of Obi Toppin clearing the protocols on Wednesday night, a sign that the team is hopefully getting through the worst of its COVID-19 outbreak.

Assuming Barrett and Toppin pass the necessary cardiac tests, they could be back in the lineup as soon as tonight vs. Washington or Saturday vs. Atlanta. Five Knicks remain in the protocols for the time being, as our tracker shows.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Earlier this week, Bucks center DeMarcus Cousins admitted he was still struggling to find his rhythm while getting “limited practice time (and) limited preparation” between games, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Cousins, who signed with Milwaukee last month, logged a season-high 28 minutes on Wednesday and had his best game of the year, putting up 18 points and eight assists in a win over Houston.
Like Cousins in Milwaukee, Cavaliers center Tacko Fall has taken on a larger role this week due to various absences. Kelsey Russo of The Athletic takes a look at the unusual journey Fall took leading up to his first NBA start on Wednesday. Playing in Boston, where he began his NBA career, the 7’5″ center had four points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Trade talks across the NBA have been put on the back burner for now as teams focus on dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks and signing replacement players. However, those discussions figure to heat up in the coming weeks, prompting Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington to take an early look at potential trade deadline priorities for the Wizards. The team could use more shooting, more size, and a speedy point guard, says Hughes.

Three Nets Rookies Enter Protocols; Harden, Two Others Exit

December 23rd, 2021 at 9:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets announced some good news and some bad news on Thursday morning. Three players – James Harden, Paul Millsap, and Jevon Carter – have exited the health and safety protocols, but three others – rookies Cameron Thomas, David Duke, and Kessler Edwards – have entered the protocols, tweets Adam Zagoria of Forbes.

You could make a strong case that no team has been hit harder in the last couple weeks by COVID-19 than Brooklyn, which still has 10 players in the league’s protocols after today’s updates. Of the 17 players the team had been carrying on its standard roster, 13 have been in the protocols this month, while Joe Harris (ankle) and Nicolas Claxton (wrist) have dealt with injuries.

Patty Mills and Blake Griffin have been the only players unaffected, and even Griffin is playing through knee pain. The Nets have also signed four replacement players – Langston Galloway, James Ennis, Shaquille Harrison, and Wenyen Gabriel – via hardship exceptions to help fill out the roster.

Brooklyn’s game in Portland on Thursday has been postponed, but the NBA will certainly want to avoid having the team’s Christmas Day game vs. the Lakers endure a similar fate. Head coach Steve Nash said today that Harris won’t play on the Nets’ current road trip, but the team hopes to have Claxton return on either Saturday vs. the Lakers or Monday vs. the Clippers (Twitter link via Brain Lewis of The New York Post).

If Harden, Millsap, and Carter are all cleared to return and Mills, Griffin, and the four replacement players are good to go, Brooklyn would have at least nine players available, even without Claxton. The Nets remain eligible to complete more hardship signings before Saturday too, if they so choose.

Hawks’ Huerter, Warriors’ Lee Placed In Protocols

December 22nd, 2021 at 6:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks guard Kevin Huerter and Warriors guard Damion Lee are the latest additions to the long list of NBA players in health and safety protocols.

Huerter is the sixth Atlanta player to be sidelined because of COVID-19, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He joins Trae Young, Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who have all entered the protocols since Sunday.

Huerter is averaging 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists through 28 games. The Hawks had been hoping he could carry a larger share of the scoring load with so many rotation members out of action.

Atlanta is also without De’Andre Hunter, who is recovering from an injury to his right wrist, and Solomon Hill, who’s sidelined with a torn right hamstring. Lance Stephenson and Malcolm Hill, who were both added to the roster today under the hardship provision, are expected to be available for tonight’s game with the Magic.

“It’s an adjustment that we have to make, we can’t allow this to be a distraction,” coach Nate McMillan said. “We have a game to play tonight. We have to come out with that energy and that effort we’ve been talking about, no matter who is in uniform. We have to play this game harder than we’ve played here lately. We’ve got to execute better, even though we’ve got a few new faces that will be out on the floor.”

The Warriors are listing Lee as being in the protocols in their latest injury report, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He becomes the third Golden State player affected, joining Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole. Lee has been a dependable bench player for the Warriors, averaging 8.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 25 games.

Pistons’ Cunningham, Sixers’ Green Enter Protocols

December 22nd, 2021 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The list of players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols continues to grow. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Sixers wing Danny Green are the two latest players to enter the protocols, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Word broke earlier this afternoon that Detroit had lined up a hardship deal with Cheick Diallo, which suggested that a Piston was about to enter the health and safety protocols. Unfortunately, it’s the No. 1 overall pick, who had been hitting his stride lately after a slow start to his rookie season.

Despite a couple clunkers this week vs. Miami and New York, Cunningham has averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 5.7 APG on .447/.441/.826 shooting in his last 10 games (33.9 MPG). Now, he’ll be sidelined at least 10 days, unless he can register two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart before then.

While Cunningham is the first Piston to enter the health and safety protocols this week, Green has some company in Philadelphia — Andre Drummond, Shake Milton, and Georges Niang are also in the protocols. The Sixers have already signed one replacement player – Tyler Johnson – and are eligible to add more if they so choose.

By our count, there are now 96 NBA players in the league’s health and safety protocols, though that number is constantly fluctuating.

Pacific Notes: Jackson, Holmes, Evans, Lakers, Suns

December 22nd, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson has entered the health and safety protocols, the team announced today in the latest update to its injury report. Jackson is the second Clipper to enter the protocols, joining forward Marcus Morris. Los Angeles already signed Moses Wright to a 10-day contract via a hardship exception and could theoretically add a second player on a 10-day deal now that two players are in the protocols.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

The Kings are optimistic that center Richaun Holmes will be available on Wednesday night for their game against the Clippers, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Holmes, currently listed as questionable, has missed Sacramento’s last seven games due to a laceration to his right eye. Given how many players the Kings are currently missing, the big man’s return would be a boon.
Given how many players are getting a chance to sign 10-day contracts this week, the idea of the Kings bringing back Tyreke Evans is an intriguing one. However, as Anderson explains in a separate article for The Sacramento Bee, Evans hasn’t yet been cleared following his ban from the NBA and faces a lengthy reinstatement process. We reported earlier in the month that Evans is seeking reinstatement after being disqualified and dismissed by the league in 2019.
After the Lakers fell back to .500 (16-16) with a loss on Tuesday night, star forward LeBron James said he still has “no idea what this team can be,” as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. “How can we really fully assess what we have when we haven’t been whole? I can’t remember the last time we played the same starting lineup and had the same rotation coming off the bench,” James said. “It’s been a long time. So, it’s hard to assess that.”
ESPN’s Zach Lowe published an interesting feature on the Suns this week, exploring the team’s ascent that began in the 2020 bubble and sharing a handful of behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

COVID-19 Notes: Trade Market, G League, Postponements

December 22nd, 2021 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have been so busy dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks and scrambling to find available replacement players that the trade talks which typically occur at this time of year have been put on the back burner, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Given how many teams are shorthanded, it has also been hard to get a clear sense of whether certain clubs will end up as buyers or sellers, a high-ranking Western Conference executive told Fischer.

“There have been so many injuries, so many players in health and safety protocols, and there are so many teams that are holding out hope they can make a run to that next goal, whether it be making the play-in, making the playoffs, or competing for a championship,” the executive said. “I don’t expect there to be any trade action anytime soon.”

Here are a few more COVID-related notes:

Within his look at the recent impact of the health and safety protocols, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report notes that the exodus of G League talent to the NBA has opened the door for more former NBA players to sign NBAGL contracts in the hopes of getting back into the league. Thon Maker, Marcus Thornton, and Jordan Crawford are among the players who have recently been offered G League deals, says Fischer.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) offers some additional details on why the Raptors‘ Wednesday game and the Nets‘ Thursday contest were postponed. As Grange explains, while the minimum number of players required for a team to play a game is eight, the NBA’s new rules say that at least five of those players must be from the club’s initial 17-man roster. It sounds as if Toronto and Brooklyn both may have dipped below five available players, not counting hardship signees.
Vaccinated players signed via hardship exceptions can play for their new teams immediately after testing negative for COVID-19, but must continue to return negative tests during each of their first five days with the club in order to enter facilities and remain active, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks (Twitter links).