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Tim BontempsESPN
Two days after the Toronto Raptors defeated the Houston Rockets with several coaches – including coach Nick Nurse – and playmaker Pascal Siakam was not due to NBA health and safety protocols, the Raptors had Sunday night’s game against Chicago Bulls postponed because they were unable to place the required eight players.
It is unclear whether Toronto will be able to return to the court before the All-Star break next weekend. The Raptors are scheduled to host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, before taking on the Celtics in Boston on Thursday.
There is no information on whether the Rockets game on Sunday night in Houston against the Memphis Grizzlies will need to be delayed due to the Raptors’ problems.
After the announcement was made about Nurse, her coaching staff and Siakam being unavailable for Friday’s game, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said the NBA – which determines whether games will be played or not – has finally determined that their testing program was rigorous enough for the Raptors and Rockets to play safely.
“We talked to the NBA,” said Webster. “One way to think about this is that we take the test twice in the morning and, if the tests are negative, it gives you the authorization to participate in the activities that day, and then you can even do some tests later in the day if you’re worried about it. I think since the negative tests came back this afternoon, I think it gave the NBA the comfort that, at least for today, we are clean. “
And while the Raptors won on Friday with veteran assistant Sergio Scariolo serving as head coach for the first time in an NBA game – after a decorated European and international career, including as a coach at Real Madrid and, for more than a decade, leading the Spanish team – it was clear just for that game.
This will be the first test of the NBA’s attempt to bring each team to 72 games this season. The league released its schedule for the second half of the season last week, one that saw several teams trying to pile up too many games in a small number of days. In the case of the Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs, they are scheduled to play 40 games in 68 days.
Toronto, on the other hand, was scheduled to play 36 games in 67 days. That number will now increase by at least one and potentially up to three. While the NBA’s goal is to get each team to play its 72 scheduled games, sources said the league is aware of the fact that all 30 teams may not be able to reach that number. There is limited flexibility in the schedule for adding games or dates to the calendar, as the NBA wants the playoffs to be completed in time before the scheduled start of the Olympic Games in late July.
The league will hold a truncated All-Star Weekend in Atlanta in a week from today, combining its Saturday night events (the skills challenge, 3-point competition and dunk competition) and the All-Star Game all in one one night in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the league has tightened its health and safety protocols significantly in recent weeks to try to mitigate the spread of the virus. For several weeks, it seemed to have prevented any outbreak in the entire team from occurring, but in the past two weeks Spurs, Charlotte Hornets and now the Raptors have had several games postponed as a result of the virus.