The NBA will do everything possible not to postpone its Christmas Day slate due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases within the league.
For the Association, this holiday acts as a major financial and popularity boon. Hence, why some of the biggest stars in the planet are set to take to the court come Saturday.
The backdrop here is a growing pandemic within the NBA that now includes well north of 100 players currently being in the NBA’s healthy and safety protocols, including 37 players set to take to the court on Christmas.
As Omicron takes over as the dominant COVID-19 variant within the broader United States, there’s no hope that numbers within the Association themselves will simply dwindle.
While this variant is said to be less severe for the vaccinated and boosted, it also spreads at a much higher clip than previous iterations of COVID. Hence, the abnormally large number of NBA, NFL and NHL players currently dealing with the virus. The most-recent example of this is the NHL announcing that the league will head for its holiday break early, postponining all games on Wednesday and Thursday in the process.
We are here to say that the NBA should follow suit and shut things down for a week once the Christmas slate draws to a conclusion. Here’s why.
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NBA players rightfully concerned over the health of their families
By and large, NBA players will be more than fine after testing positive for COVID-19. North of 95% of players are vaccinated. Most have received their boosters. Meanwhile, Omicron is said to be less severe than the Delta variant. These players shouldn’t be overly concerned about their health.
Rather, it’s all about gathering with families for the holidays and New Year. Older family members are at more risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus. Others have pre-existing conditions that potentially sets up severe illnesses. This has not been lost on players
“There is great concern about the higher transmission rate of Omicron than Delta, even though preliminary trials seem to indicate Omicron is less lethal than Delta was,” David Aldridge of The Athletic noted. “And, going into Christmas Week, players obviously want to know how infectious they are if they come in close contact with loved ones.”
There’s no real way to make sure loved ones are out of the woods right now outside of potentially postponing all Wednesday and Thursday games, giving players ample time to record negative COVID-19 tests before they celebrate the holidays with their families. Sure this wouldn’t help those playing on Saturday, but widespread Christmas Day cancelations was never going to be in the cards.
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A week or so off wouldn’t ruin the NBA
We’re not talking about going into a bubble. A few months off. The NBA isn’t running up against the Summer Olympics like last season. Legitimately, nothing would be impacted over the long haul if the Association opted to stop its season for a week or so.
Push back the start of the playoffs some. The NBA Finals can easily be moved to later in June. In the process, this would give commissioner Adam Silver and Co. time to figure out what to do moving forward. Whether that’s an altered policy that lets fully-boosted COVID positive players take to the court remains to be seen. But something needs to change in that regard. Either way, pausing the season would be akin to hitting the reset button on the pandemic as it relates to players.
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The NBA product is failing
“The Raptors charter is taxiing on runway to take flight to Chicago, source tells ESPN. They have 7 players in protocols, injuries and appears 6 regular players — plus replacements rushing to scene — available to play the Bulls on Wednesday,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted on Tuesday.
What exactly are we doing here? Despite having a half-dozen players in the NBA health and safety protocols, including Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors are traveling from Canada to play the Bulls in Chicago. That’s absolutely insane given that the Bulls themselves are also in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak.
It was just this past Saturday evening that the Golden State Warriors opted to keep their entire starting lineup in the United States rather than play the Raptors in Canada. Steve Kerr and Co. are one of many teams slated to play Christmas with a COVID-19 outbreak existing in their locker room, including the likes of Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins.
From a broader league perspective, we’re talking about star player after star player currently sidelined due to protocols.
That list includes Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam.
You can’t tell me that the NBA product is not being impacted by this. It’s time for the Association to use common sense and suspend the season for a week or so. If not, this will be a continued issueas the 2022 calendar year gets going — potentially impacting the ability of the NBA to complete the season altogether.