On Monday, the NBA announced the next two Chicago Bulls games will be postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
It marks the first COVID-related delay during the 2021-2022 NBA season.
The NBA on Monday announced the next two Chicago Bulls games will be postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak on the team https://t.co/3JXj7j28N7
— Forbes (@Forbes) December 13, 2021
The #Bulls have asked the NBA to postpone Tuesday’s matchup against the Pistons due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (via @BuzzOnTap) #BullsNation @BullsOnTap https://t.co/TjxP0YLjEA
— On Tap Sports Net (@OnTapSportsNet) December 13, 2021
The @DetroitPistons game vs. the Chicago Bulls has been postponed due to the COVID issues on the Bulls roster. https://t.co/cDecExKuGO
— Freep Sports (@freepsports) December 13, 2021
Forbes noted these details about the situation:
The Bulls’ Tuesday night home game against the Detroit Pistons and Thursday night’s game at the Toronto Raptors will be moved to later dates.
Ten Bulls players have entered the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols due to Covid, along with “additional staff members,” according to the NBA.
The protocols require players to stay away from basketball activities for at least 10 days or after showing two negative tests results within a 24-hour timeframe.
The outbreak reportedly left the team with just eight healthy players heading into the upcoming games.
Despite being a fully vaccinated team, the Chicago Bulls saw their roster allegedly dwindle to eight healthy players.
That means the organization and mainstream media can’t blame the outbreak on unvaccinated players or coaching staff.
https://twitter.com/IDontrustBiden/status/1470102584274870277
Half of Chicago Bulls roster now in COVID-19 protocol after outbreak detected https://t.co/XambASo0NZ pic.twitter.com/HFji6NpCv9
— The Hill (@thehill) December 12, 2021
According to an NBC Chicago report, the team has already administered COVID-19 boosters:
The Bulls are a fully vaccinated team. Vučević said after Saturday’s loss to the Heat that “most” of the team has received booster shots.
As of last update, the NBA reported its league to be 97 percent vaccinated. The Bulls have offered boosters to players and staff.
How have the Bulls been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak?
Head coach Billy Donovan has disclosed that the team, while vaccinated, is back to testing multiple times per day. Players are encouraged to be masked for all team activities. And the Bulls’ ability to practice and hold shootarounds on game days has been inhibited by recent protocol entries.
“The league has put some things on us that we can and cannot do as a group, so it’s definitely been somewhat challenging,” Donovan said before the team’s Dec. 6 game against the Nuggets.
Missing their starting shooting guard, small forward and power forward in LaVine, DeRozan and Green, rotation mainstays in White, Dosunmu and Jones Jr., and a reserve failsafe in Thomas, Donovan’s rotations have also been strained and those available have played heavy minutes. Alex Caruso did return from a hamstring strain to play 27 minutes against the Heat, but Patrick Williams is out another three-to-five months rehabbing a wrist injury.
In all, three of the Bulls’ eight available players are either two-way players (Devon Dotson, Tyler Cook) or hardship exception additions (McKinnie). Eight of their top 11 scorers are out, including the top two of DeRozan and LaVine. Caruso still isn’t 100 percent after the hamstring injury. And even if White and/or Green returns, they’ll be doing so without a formal practice.
Donovan did say in Miami he’s spoken to Bulls players in protocols, and most are dealing with either mild symptoms or are asymptomatic altogether.
“Maybe some of it’s from the vaccination, we’ve got a lot of guys sitting home with no symptoms,” Donovan said. “I understand the testing protocols, and I understand what the league’s trying to do in terms of keeping and making sure everybody’s safe. But we do have guys back there that feel fine. And that’s obviously a good thing too, because I think when guys have gone through real, real difficulty of getting really, really sick, it’s really made it a lot harder for them coming back.”
NBA players are among the world’s best athletes.
COVID-19 was never a major health threat to these ultra-fit individuals.
Unsurprisingly, the mass-inoculation campaign has proved to make zero difference in the league’s ridiculous COVID-19 protocols.
And more concerning, it has placed players, coaches, and staff at risk of serious health complications.
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