In March 2020, Jazz center Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with the new crown virus and became the "patient zero" of the NBA, which led to the NBA's suspension of the game for several months. Now, almost two years later, the NBA has finally returned to its former hustle and bustle this season after two shrinking seasons. Teams began playing in the 82 games of the new season in a stadium full of fans. But with a new round of COVID-19 sweeping the world, the NBA is not immune. The increasing number of infections and the increasingly severe forms of epidemic prevention are like clouds, beginning to hang over the NBA stadium.
The Bulls were one of the most surprising teams since the start of the season, but they are also the team that has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic today. Not counting Vucevic, who was previously infected and has now returned to the team, the Bulls players who are now absent due to the new crown infection have reached 10, including the main players of the team such as DeRozan and Lavin. It is no exaggeration to say that the Bulls are not enough to play a game these days.
Based on this situation, the NBA recently announced that the bulls' last two games on the schedule, that is, their games with the Pistons and Raptors, will be postponed, which is also the first time since the beginning of the season that the NBA has announced the decision to reschedule the game due to the new crown epidemic.
At present, the next game that the Bulls will not be cancelled is a game with the Lakers on December 20, Beijing time. The Lakers, who have been short of major generals and have an untidy lineup since the beginning of the season, are now also entangled in the new crown virus. On December 14, local time, the team announced that it would cancel the training scheduled for the day, because the team's defenders Horton Tucker, Malik Munch and center Howard were all confirmed to be infected with the new crown virus. At the same time, the three will also miss the Lakers' away game with the Lone Rangers on December 16, Beijing time.
For the Lakers, the absence of these three players is undoubtedly another blow to the team that has just shown signs of improvement recently. Tucker is a consistent ball-holding and offensive point, Munch is the second only scorer on the bench after "Melon" Anthony, and Howard is the main rotation on the inside. With Anthony Davis' knee injury unknown, it is difficult for the Lakers to challenge the Lone Ranger without these three players.
Before the start of the season, the Lakers, along with the Nets and Bucks, were regarded as the teams with the best chance of competing for the championship in the new season. The Lakers are now mired in the mud, but the Nets and Bucks continue to soar in the East. However, these two eastern powerhouses have now been hit by the new crown epidemic.
First look at the Nets, a game with the Raptors, the Brooklyns only have 8 players at home to play, except for Joe Harris and others who are recuperating, the other 6 players have been infected with the new crown, which triggered the health and safety provisions of the league, so they can't play. The six are James Harden, Bruce Brown, Aldridge, James Johnson, DeAndre Bambri and Javin Carter. Without exception, they are the Absolute Workhorse of the Nets, or important rotations.
Although the Nets have a large number of players affected by the epidemic, at least there is a core Durant supporting the team. In contrast, the defending champion Bucks, they are directly without the core "alphabet brother". On December 13, local time, the Bucks announced that Antetokounmpo would miss the next game with the Pacers because of the triggering of the health and safety clause, and there were also DiVinchenzo, who had just recovered from injury and was diagnosed with the new crown virus, and Middleton, who injured his knee in the previous game.
The Nets and Bucks have been 7-3 in their last 10 games and are arguably in good form. How the sudden outbreak of the epidemic will affect the two teams will be answered for some time to come.
Not only the NBA, but also two other U.S. professional sports leagues that have been in progress recently in the season, the NFL of rugby and the NHL of hockey, have also seen a large number of infected players and team staff. On December 13, local time, 37 players in the NFL were confirmed to be infected with the new crown virus in a single day; the Calgary Flames of the NHL, because 6 players and 1 staff member were confirmed to be infected, became the third team to suspend the season of the season.
If you look around the world, there are more sporting events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, manchester United in the Premier League, because there are many confirmed cases in the team, has closed the team's training ground; Tottenham coach Antonio said that the team has a total of 13 players have been diagnosed, leaving only 11 players to play. There is also the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that just ended last weekend, Haas Team's driver Ma Zeping was diagnosed with the new crown virus before the main race, and the Haas Team could not even find a substitute driver, resulting in the final battle of F1 this season, with only 19 drivers out.
Sports have always been considered to be the epitome of society, so the severe epidemic prevention situation facing the sports circle today is also a reflection and portrayal of the real society. In the Northern Hemisphere, as winter came, temperatures gradually dropped and the coronavirus began to become active again. In addition, the new variant of Omiljung began to spread widely, so many athletes who were vaccinated were also infected with the virus again. Moreover, what is more worrying is that the time point of the large-scale outbreak of the virus may not have arrived.
The NBA has recently communicated with teams to prepare them for the pandemic. Because at the end of December, the United States will usher in the "holiday season" of Christmas and New Year. At that time, the players and the team's staff will definitely have to get together with their friends and relatives, and a wider range of personnel contact will naturally increase the risk of the spread of the virus, and more people may trigger the health and safety provisions of the league.
"Most of us think that this is no longer a question of whether it will happen, but when it will happen," an executive at a team in the West said of the future of the epidemic prevention situation.
Before the start of the season, the NBA announced that 97 percent of the league's players were vaccinated. In addition, according to the league statistics, as of December 13, about 200 players have been vaccinated with booster needles in response to the recent outbreak. The NBA also announced that after December 17, local time, players who can be vaccinated with booster needles but are not vaccinated will also undergo more stringent daily testing.
If the epidemic worsens further, will the NBA take stricter prevention and control measures? Like an empty match, or a suspension? In Germany, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the bavarian local government has announced that in the last two weeks of 2021, all sports events held in the state will be closed to spectators, including bayern Munich's home games.
So, will the NBA follow such a measure? The answer may be no. "If the restrictions are reintroduced, everyone in the league probably won't accept it, because the vaccination rate in this league is already very high," an executive of a Western conference team commented. At the same time, the executive of an eastern team expressed optimism about epidemic prevention: "Compared with a year ago, the situation is more controllable now." Overall, the urgency of the current situation is not as serious as it was then. However, things may also change within a week or two, and the NBA official has clearly told us this. ”