NBA: 5 hardest-hit teams by COVID-19

There is not a single sector that has not
been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two and a half years. COVID-19
pandemic has left the world in a shambles first then even when the world
wobbled to recover with the arrival of immunity-boosting vaccines, sports could
not make a total recovery of its huge losses. NBA, one of the world’s richest
sports leagues, has been among the hardest hit sports leagues in the world. The
introduction of COVID-19 health and safety protocols in a contact sport like
basketball took a bite on the game’s ethos.

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Though almost all the players in NBA are
fully vaccinated and some of them even received booster shots, the league has
continued playing through widespread COVID-19 transmission across its rosters
thanks to an influx of players signed to 10-day hardship contracts. More than
100 players in total have signed using hardship exceptions, helping make up for
nearly 250 players who have entered health and safety protocols over the past
three weeks.

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This approach has minimised disruptions to
the NBA schedule but many teams have to play with their best set of players.
Those absences have not hit every team equally, as some have had to play with
makeshift squads while a few others have experienced relatively modest impact
to date.

Now as the worst of the NBA’s
omicron-related outbreak seems to be a thing of the past, Opoyi takes a stock
of teams that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on games
players have missed either in protocols or due to subsequent reconditioning
through Sunday, we have considered most value lost in terms of minutes by 5
teams in the NBA.

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Chicago Bulls

1,182 minutes lost (1st)

Chicago Bulls were the first team to see a
game postponed as it fell short of players. As the game got postponed, the
Bulls earned a point. Stars DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine had missed three and
two games respectively, including the postponed match. Their other misses came
against the Toronto Raptors because of the Raptors. Still, Chicago Bulls lost
more minutes than any other team due to the protocols.

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Philadelphia 76ers

1,135 minutes lost (2nd)

Much like the Cavaliers, the 76ers
negotiated an early breakout of COVID-19 cases in their squad that cost them
one of the league’s top players, Joel Embiid who missed nine games after
testing positive in early November. Embiid’s absence overlapped with those for
starting forward Tobias Harris (six games), Matisse Thybulle (seven) and
reserve guard Isaiah Joe (five).

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Even in 2022 Philadelphia 76ers continue to
lose players to the health and safety protocols. Not long after Andre Drummond,
Danny Green and Shake Milton returned, the 76ers placed Thybulle back in
protocols along with starting point guard Tyrese Maxey on Monday.

Cleveland Cavaliers

1,110 minutes lost (3rd)

Cleveland Cavaliers are currently ranked
sixth on the East Conference despite losing many of their key players to the
health and safety protocols. The Cavaliers were ravaged by the spread of
COVID-19 cases back in November, as forwards Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen
missed extended periods of eight and nine games, respectively. More recently,
Cleveland has seen three key starters centre Jarrett Allen, point guard Darius
Garland and Evan Mobley miss multiple games.

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In fact in their game on Monday, they fell
short at point guard since Garland and backup Ricky Rubio, who suffered an ACL
tear last week, were unavailable. Despite the absence of a regular point guard,
Cleveland beat an Indiana Pacers team on Sunday.

Atlanta Hawks

1,074 minutes lost (4th)

Another Eastern Conference team on the list
is Atlanta Hawks. They lost 16 of their players to the COVID-19 health and
safety protocols so far. The Hawks are tied with the Chicago Bulls in terms of
losing players to COVID-19 protocols this season. Atlanta’s more extended
absences, including wings Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter, both missed six
games each.

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Boston Celtics

957 minutes lost (5th)

In December, Boston Celtics’ campaign was
disrupted by unavailable players. Starters Al Horford and Jayson Tatum were
both sidelined late in December, as were sixth man Dennis Schroder and a number
of reserves. Tatum missed four games which are on the relatively higher side
for a player following changes to the league’s policy for testing out of protocols.
Despite his absence, the Celtics registered an impressive win over the Phoenix
Suns on New Year’s Eve.