The NBA postponed another game on Thursday for coronavirus-related reasons, bringing the total to 11 for the season.
Meanwhile, two other coaches entered the league’s health protocols.
Golden State’s game in Denver was postponed because the Nuggets, due to a combination of injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak, did not have the required minimum of eight players available at the start of the game.
Had the Nuggets played, they would have also lacked coach Michael Malone, who entered protocols Thursday, as did Philadelphia quarterback Doc Rivers. The 76ers turned to assistant Dan Burke in place of Rivers for their Thursday engagement against Brooklyn.
Rivers and Malone join coaches Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers; Billy Donovan from Chicago; Monty Williams of Phoenix; Chauncey Billups of Portland and Mark Daigneault of Oklahoma City on the list of technicians in the protocols.
Also on the protocols were about 120 players as of Thursday morning, plus various employees across the league – including assistant coaches, media workers, referees, public relations personnel, members of the statistics team and physical therapists.
“It’s mentally draining,” said Portland assistant Scott Brooks, who is filling in for Billups in his absence.
For some teams, there was progress on Thursday. Toronto, decimated by the coronavirus in recent weeks, had recovered most of its players for practice.
“I clean things up a bit more. I wear my mask a little more and stay in my office alone all the time, ”said Nick Nurse, the Raptors coach. “I go home when practice is over. I try to do these things. “
Toronto guard Fred VanVleet was among the players who returned to the court. In his case, he recovered after contracting COVID-19 for the second time.
VanVleet’s story this time was not very different from that of many players who have spoken of their experiences in recent weeks. Most have reported that they had mild symptoms.
The league considers that this is due to the fact that 97% of the players have been vaccinated and 65% even received a booster. All coaches are also vaccinated.
“This was different, a different experience, with different symptoms and severity,” VanVleet recounted. “Obviously, I will probably take some time to come back, but I consider it more feasible than last year.”
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