The Washington Wizards have six players who have tested positive in COVID-19, so they are a total of nine players who continue in NBA safety and health protocols.
The Wizards had their next two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers initially scheduled for Sunday and Monday. Washington has postponed four straight games since it was last played on Jan. 11 in Phoenix.
“It’s just an unfortunate set of circumstances,” the Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a video call with reporters. “If you follow our track we really go back to when we played in Chicago [Notes:on Dec. 29 and 31] , almost every team we played, one player gave positive. The next day [and] the next day, several players in some places. It was inevitable.
“The NBA has long pointed out this period that this would be very difficult. And they weren’t kidding. All the cities we went to seemed to be more and more. You never mean because we escaped or nothing has come out of us yet. bad because you only know that inevitably something will be your turn and unfortunately this has been our turn “.
The Wizards canceled training Tuesday before the league’s decision to postpone Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz. The magicians later classified Rui Hachimura and center Moe Wagner as questionable due to the health and safety protocols in the injury report.
Sheppard said the team knew it had reached six cases of positive players on Friday. The team hopes that if there are no new positive cases on Saturday, non-quarantined Wizards players and safety protocols will be able to return to the facility to do some individual training.
Even if the Wizards were allowed to return to the court and practice now, they don’t have enough players to launch a practice with as many injured players as Russell Westbrook (quad), nor in quarantine or safety protocol.
Westbrook is due to be re-evaluated early next week.
“In terms of activity, we’ve been very limited, to zero, in terms of going back to the facility,” Sheppard said. “Without a doubt, the players who are in quarantine, the players with COVID can’t even solve … If there is no positive test tomorrow, we can get the boys back in the gym 1 to 0.”
“I think four teams have missed several games,” Sheppard added. “And so far I would think it’s a small victory considering what happens … and what it could become.”