The Washington Wizards have six players who tested positive for COVID-19, which is a total of nine players who are in the NBA’s health and safety records.
The Wizards postponed their next two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, originally scheduled for Sunday and Monday, Friday. Washington has postponed four consecutive games since it last played on January 11 in Phoenix.
“It’s just an unfortunate set of circumstances,” Wommy’s general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a video call with reporters. ‘If you follow our track, we’re really going back to when we played Chicago [Dec. 29 and 31], almost every team we have played has a player tested positive. The next day [and] the next day, several players in some places. It was inevitable.
“The NBA has been showing for some time in this period that it’s going to be very difficult. And they did not make a joke. Every city we went to just got more and more. You never want to say. “well, we escaped” or “nothing has gone wrong for us yet” because you just necessarily know that something is going to happen to you, and unfortunately it was our turn. “
The Wizards canceled the practice Tuesday before the league’s decision to postpone the game against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. The Wizards then listed forward Rui Hachimura and center Moe Wagner as questionable due to health and safety protocols in the injury report.
Sheppard said the team learned on Friday that it had achieved six positive player cases. The team hopes that if there are no new positive cases Saturday, the players who are not in quarantine, and the safety protocols can return to the facility for individual training sessions.
Even if the Wizards are allowed to return to court and practice, they do not have enough players to offer a practice with so many players injured, such as Russell Westbrook (quadruple), or in quarantine or safety protocol .
Westbrook needs to be re-evaluated early next week.
“In terms of activity, we were very limited to zero in terms of returning to the facility,” Sheppard said. “The players who are in quarantine can definitely not even work with the players with COVID. If there is not a positive test tomorrow, we guys can get 1-on-0 in the gym.”
“I think four teams missed several games,” Sheppard added. “And so far I would think it’s a small victory if I take into account what’s going on there, and what could become.”