MIAMI - The NBA postponed Wednesday's game between Miami and San Antonio after a combination of injuries and positive COVID-19 tests left the Heat unable to meet the league's requirement of eight available players.
It was the 10th game in the NBA this season to be postponed due to virus-related issues. None have been rescheduled at this point.
12 players were shortlisted for the game against the Spurs in Miami for a variety of reasons. The Heat beat the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night with eight players - and only five of them will be able to play Wednesday in San Antonio.
Gabe Vincent, who played 35 minutes into Tuesday's win, learned after the game that he tested positive and could not travel. Jimmy Butler was ruled out after spraining his right ankle with about a minute into the Wizards' game for Wednesday, and KZ Okpala was also unable to play on Tuesday with an injury.
The Heat also added PJ Tucker and Zillan Cheetham, neither of whom played in health and safety protocols on Tuesday. And Tuesday's game came after Miami guard Max Strauss - who was not feeling any symptoms - was pulled after he was heated, because of a positive test he was required to enter into protocol.
Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said, "At this point in time, this is the surprising thing about this edition." "I think we've reached a point - I've said it before - we need more information. Are there more asymptomatic cases? It's all with the warning of double vaccination, with a booster and then asymptomatic, What does that mean and what adjustments can we make there? ... I think that causes a lot of confusion."
Miami tried to get roster assists on Wednesday - ironically the Austin Spurs, San Antonio's G League affiliate, in part because those players could get to San Antonio relatively early and on time for Wednesday's play. . Miami was in the process of signing Austin center Eric Holman to a tough contract on Wednesday, and will likely need more consolidation ahead of their next scheduled game on Friday in Houston.
Nearly every team in the NBA has been dealing with a virus-related issue in recent days, with 119 players known to be in protocol as of Wednesday evening. That figure, which often changes as players test in and out, protocol excludes coaches, staff and others – including referees. The NBA said Wednesday night that referee Justin Van Dunne had entered protocol, leaving the league with a two-man squad to make the game work between Phoenix and Oklahoma City.
The league told teams early Wednesday it was revising its protocol, this time to reduce the amount of time that a player who tests positive needs to spend in isolation for five days - US Center Following guidance issued by the United States for Disease Control and Prevention. The league disclosed this in a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The five-day isolation is devoted to the player being either asymptomatic or after his symptoms are gone by the fifth day. That change doesn't mean a player can return to the court more quickly, as updated CDC guidelines also call for wearing a mask for an additional five days when others are around after leaving isolation.
But it allows teams, when a player or employee tests positive on a road trip and must begin isolating immediately, with the ability to use commercial airlines to fly that person home quickly. cases while the 10-day isolation period was in effect.
Another policy change is coming for those attending Golden State Warriors games after February 1, which requires most fans to receive a booster shot.
Complying with a revised mandate issued Wednesday in San Francisco, the Warriors said they would require "up-to-date proof of vaccination, including a booster shot at least one week before an event, for eligible guests" before allowing proof is included". Those guests in the arena. Until then, the only mandate for those games is to be fully vaccinated as a guest.