The NBA is feeling the effects of the latest COVID-19 surge

In a way, shape, form or fashion, the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols have affected each of the league’s 30 teams less than two months into the 2021-season. 22.

Mid-December, more than 20 players are currently implementing health and safety protocols, with 10 members of the Bulls placed in protocols between December 1 and December 13. In addition to the players, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle and Raptors President, Masai Ujiri, have been forced to quit their jobs at their organizations as a result of positive COVID-19 tests.

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This season, the NBA approved changes to its protocols based on the widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccine by relaxing the rules for vaccinated players and teams reaching 100 percent vaccination threshold. As a result, the large-scale effect of COVID-19 on the NBA appears to be quite different from what it did during the 2020-21 NBA season when the fixture schedule was created with the inevitable fact that the procrastination in mind.

Despite the number of players, coaches and executives who handled the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, the tournament only postponed two matches. But the lack of a postponement does not mean that COVID-19 has not affected the tournament.

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Why are only two games postponed for the 2021-22 NBA season?

Unlike last season, the contact tracing process is vastly different due to high vaccination rates among players in the NBA.

According to NBA rules, a team must have at least eight players available to prevent a game from being postponed. The NBA’s roster rules allow a team to have 17 players – 15 players on a standard contract and two additional players on a two-way contract.

Players on a two-way contract can participate in up to 50 NBA games.

With those numbers in place, a team would hypothetically be forced to postpone a match if there weren’t 10 or more players to match. This season, however, teams are likely to take advantage of the tough immunity to push past the typical squad cap and sign players for 10 days until a player can return to the squad. work.

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As a direct result of a team’s immunization capacity and threshold, players who sign with a team must go through a different – and less rigorous – process to be cleared to join an active roster. .

In short, differences in contact tracing and vaccine availability have resulted in less inclusion of health and safety protocols, thus allowing almost any team to deploy at least eight active players.

The Bulls, however, have used the NBA’s tough exemption twice due to their outbreak.

This season, aside from two games, the show went on, but with well-known names having sprung into health and safety protocols, the show sometimes looked much different…

Who missed out due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols this season?

All-Stars Devin Booker and Jaylen Brown missed time in training camp and pre-season ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Booker and Brown are two of six 2021 All-Stars that have been included in health and safety protocols this season, while Kyrie Irving is yet to compete due to New York City regulations for those have not been immunized against COVID-19.

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In addition to that trio, centers Joel Embiid and Nikola Vucevic missed extended periods after entering protocols, while LeBron James was forced to miss a game after testing falsely positive for COVID-19 resulted in him being included in the protocols.

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Bulls All-Star defender Zach LaVine is the latest big name to be expected to be out for at least 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19.

Notable players included in this season’s health and safety protocols