On December 15, Beijing time, the number of players triggering health and safety agreements in the NBA continued to increase. According to the famous Shams, Lakers players Howard and Munch will enter the quarantine phase due to the trigger agreement, and neither of them will qualify for the team's away game against the Lone Ranger tomorrow. Since Munch traveled to Dallas with the Lakers, it will attract the attention of the whole team, which is worrying.
In addition to the above two, Bucks player Di Vincenzo was also quarantined for triggering the agreement. Di Vincenzo suffered an ankle injury in the first round of last season's playoffs against the Heat, and then underwent surgery to announce the season reimbursement. He followed the team to the championship in the finals. For nearly six months, he was in the recovery phase. Di Vincenzo had planned a comeback in the team's game against the Pacers on Thursday, but the sudden trigger of the agreement forced him to postpone his comeback. It's a disaster.
With the three players triggering the health and safety agreement, a total of 13 new people in the league today have been quarantined. The worst of these was the Nets, who earlier announced that six were quarantined, counting the rest of the team's players who couldn't play, and they missed a total of nine games against the Raptors today. The team's remaining eight men also only meet the league's minimum number of appearances. This forced Durant, who had an unwell ankle and a shoulder wound, to fight with an injury. In the end, the Nets narrowly defeated the Raptors in overtime, ushering in a three-game winning streak.
According to journalist Tom Haberstroh, there are currently 34 players in the league in quarantine to trigger health and safety protocols, as follows:
Nets: Aldridge, Bemburi, James Johnson, Javin Carter, Millsap, Harden, Bruce Brown
Hornets: Smith (3-ball, Rozier and 4 others just ended quarantine)
Bulls: DeRozan, LaVine, Kobe White, Derrick Jones Jr., Yaont Green, Matt Thomas, Domouson, Stanley Johnson, Troy Brown, Aliz Johnson
Nuggets: Rivers
Clippers: Ibaka
Lakers: Horton Tucker, Howard, Munch
Grizzlies: Morant
Heat: Caleb Martin
Bucks: Alphabet Brother, Matthews, DiVincienzo
Knicks: Barrett, Toppin, Grimes
Raptors: Achuva
Wizard: Kuzma
Over the past week, the outbreak has continued, implicating many teams as a result. The Bulls were the worst of the teams, having to sign players with difficult exceptions due to the large number of players quarantined, but they didn't expect to trigger the health and safety agreement immediately after signing the players. Therefore, the Bulls can only apply to the league to postpone the game, and their matches with the Pistons and Raptors will be delayed, and it is not known whether Monday's game with the Lakers can be played.
The outbreak has hit teams beyond imagination, but because 97% of the players in the league have been vaccinated and more than 200 people have received booster injections, the NBA has no intention of shutting down. But as the situation gets more and more severe, with more and more players affected and the number of quarantines rising, the league may need to re-examine the current situation. If the outbreak continues and it is out of control, may this season be far from a shutdown?
(Text/Yuwen Basketball)