Against the backdrop of covid-19, the NBA, which has been in the middle of the game for less than two months, has had its toughest period, with players, coaches, and members of management triggering health and safety agreements almost every day for the past two weeks.
Yesterday, a total of 12 people in the league were quarantined, including the "alphabet brother" Antetokounmpo and James Harden, two superstars. And today, King acting coach Gentry was diagnosed with the infection. The insider also revealed that the first case of Aomi Kerong infection has been found in the latest test.
Worryingly, this may just be the beginning. The U.S. Christmas holiday is approaching, and after the holiday, the NBA may usher in another wave of infection peaks. However, based on recent news, the NBA does not plan to shut down, but continues to dance in shackles. After more than a year of experience responding to the pandemic, the NBA believes they can get through this tough time.
How serious is this wave?
As infectious disease experts predict, the NBA will have its toughest challenges in the winter. At the beginning of the season, there were only a few players infected with the new crown, such as the Bulls' Vucevic and Philadelphia's Embiid. But in December, more than 40 players have triggered health and safety agreements in just half a month, not counting Raptors president Ukeli, Pacers coach Carlisle, and Kings acting coach Gentry.
According to statistics, a third of the season has been played, and the number of people who triggered health and safety regulations has far exceeded that of last season (14).
Currently, there are still 37 players in the league in quarantine. The Bulls are undoubtedly the worst team, with 10 of them quarantined. Previously, due to too many absent players, the Bulls applied to postpone the game, and the league agreed to postpone the Bulls' two games. The only good news is that, in terms of time, DeRozan is almost out of quarantine. However, Zach Lavin, Derek Jones and others are expected to be absent for another week.
The Nets are now suffering from the same disease as the Bulls, and the Nets currently have as many as 7 people quarantined, including Harden, Ade, and Bembry, and Bruce Brown, Millsap, James Johnson, and Jevon Carter are also important rotation players.
Among the other strong teams, the Bucks and Lakers were unfortunately hit. The Bucks' Antetokounmpo, Matthews and Di Vincenzo are all in quarantine. On the Lakers' side, Munch, Dwight Howard, and Tarren Horton-Tucker are also quarantined.
Wasps were also the hardest hit area before, and many people were quarantined. However, the Hornets are close to emerging from the crisis, with core guard Lamelho Ball close to a comeback. The Nuggets have basically emerged from the crisis, leaving Only Rivers Jr. alone is still in isolation
As things stand now, it's worth worrying about the ratings of the year-end war. Both Harden and Antetokounmpo would have to be absent for at least 10 days, and unless they tested negative twice in 24 hours, both were likely to miss the year-end war. The Nets, Bucks and Lakers may play in the residual lineup at that time, and the viewing of the two focus games will be greatly affected. After all, no one wants to see a group of role players with two-way contracts, non-guarantee contracts, and temporary contracts in the focus war.
When did this wave of the outbreak begin?
Extrapolating from time, the recent peak of infection began on Thanksgiving. Before Thanksgiving, the league was already worried that players would definitely have a lot of family and friends gatherings during the holidays, and increased contact with the outside world would definitely lead to an increased risk of contracting the virus. Therefore, the league issued a notice on November 20 that all players must be tested daily from November 29 to December 2.
The coalition's concerns proved right. After the sudden tightening of the detection policy, the number of people triggering health and safety regulations has increased, the bulls, Hornets, Nuggets three teams have become the hardest hit area, and recently the Nets, Bucks, Lakers, Knicks four teams have also been recruited, many people have been isolated.
The general manager of an Eastern Conference team said: "This is expected, and the league told us a few weeks ago that because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be a wave of peak periods after the holiday, not only in the NBA, but in general, so this is not a sudden event." ”
A closer look at the reasons for the arrival of this wave of infection peak period can certainly not be simply attributed to the "increase in Thanksgiving holiday gatherings", the reasons behind it are worth investigating, and it is worth figuring out the reasons behind it in order to take preventive measures in the future.
The loosening of the alliance's testing policy and the decline in vaccine efficacy are the real reasons.
Last season, the league's testing procedures were very strict, and Lakers star LeBron James once revealed: "On training day, in order to enter the stadium, you must first undergo nucleic acid testing, and then wait 35-40 minutes or even an hour, and get the feedback results without any problem before entering the stadium." "It's just a training day, and on matchday, everyone has to undergo nucleic acid testing. For the behavior of players off the field, the league also issued a memorandum to regulate the rules.
For the strict testing procedures that exist almost every day, the players complain for days. This season, because 97% of players have already been vaccinated, the league has decided that players who have been vaccinated do not need to be tested every training session and every game day, and only those who are not vaccinated will be subject to very strict restrictions.
Because of the loosening of the testing policy, there has been a delay in the time when some players have been found to be infected with the virus, and it is difficult to say that there is no reason why a large number of players from the Bulls, Hornets, and Nets have been isolated.
The other is the problem of vaccines, and the alliance's testing policy has been loosened because the alliance believes in the efficacy of vaccines. However, according to the league's cooperation with relevant experts and testing agencies, it was found that among the more than 2,300 players and staff who were vaccinated, 75 people had antibody levels tested as "undetected". As of November 19, the NBA found that 34 vaccinated players and staff were still infected with the virus, of which 31 had lower antibody levels than others, and 3 people had antibody levels tested as "undetected." This set of data has been published for nearly a month, and these data are definitely increasing now.
This shows that the antibodies in some of the vaccinated players have shown a downward trend, and the antibodies in their bodies have been difficult to cope with the invasion of a new round of viruses, and the risk of infection has increased.
Because of this, the league has recently been encouraging players to get injections. In particular, those players who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the study found that they were more likely to be re-infected, and 30 percent of the players in the league were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and they were more in urgent need of booster injections than other players.
Will the NBA shut down because of this?
Today, the alliance has to worry not only about the ratings of the year-end war, but also about the arrival of another wave of infection peaks after the year-end war. NBA executives and medical experts are worried that after the Christmas and New Year holidays in the United States, more players will trigger health and safety agreements, because during the holidays, they will definitely have to gather with family and friends, and the risk of infection will increase.
In particular, the Ami kerong mutation is coming, and the Alliance is very worried about the spread of the virus within the Alliance. One general manager of a Western conference team was pessimistic: "Most of us think that it is not whether this result will come, but when it will come." ”
But at present, the league has no intention of shutting down, and even, unless it is a last resort, the league does not even plan to postpone some games. Last season, the league had 31 games postponed, but so far this season there are only 2 games, only 8 people can play in one game on the Nets, the league has not allowed the game to be postponed, and Durant has only 8 people to play the Nets with injuries.
"The feeling is, the pandemic can't be solved anyway, and in a way, we have to accept that reality," said one of the west's top trainers.
The alliance's refusal to stop, in addition to the unwillingness to suffer huge economic losses again, has accumulated a lot of experience in epidemic prevention is also the main reason, the alliance is confident to tide over the difficulties. A general manager of an Eastern team said: "We have done a better job of controlling the spread of the virus than we did a year ago. Overall, the sense of urgency is not what it was last year. ”
As the general manager said, the alliance has introduced new policies to prevent the epidemic. According to the latest report of "The Athletic", every training day and match day, whether it is a vaccinated player or an unvaccinated player, it must be tested, which is also recognized by the players' union. Mitchell Roberts, president of the players' union, said: "We believe more tests are needed next. ”
U.S. reporter Volkunov also revealed that the next time the league and the players' union may reach an agreement to further tighten the epidemic prevention policy, in addition to more testing, the league may require players to always pay attention to wearing masks and maintain social distancing when not playing. The league could also restore last season's rules, forcing players to stay home as much as possible during home games and stay in hotels when playing away from home, and not to go out unless necessary.
All in all, with the experience of the past season and a half, the league is confident of surviving these toughest days. For now, at least, suspensions and concentrations in one place are not on the league's radar.