Players have been required to undergo the NBA’s health and safety protocols if there is a chance that they have contracted the covid-19 virus. It is not particular to one team, as several players on different teams have had to follow the protocol.
Unfortunately for the Chicago Bulls, nine of their players are undergoing the league’s safety protocol, including DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, and Javonte Green. The outbreak also reached their broadcasters Stacey King and Bill Wennington who are both in isolation.
Going into games this short-staffed will undoubtedly be a problem for the Bulls, with players having to log more minutes.
According to NBC Sports Rob Schaefer, the Bulls are requesting for their Tuesday game against the Detroit Pistons to be postponed but it seems unlikely that the league will hearken to their plea. For a game to hold, the NBA mandate requires a team to have at least 8 players available. Although the Bulls have nine players observing the health protocols, they have nine players that are available on the roster.
To further help the Bulls, the league has granted the team hardship exceptions, which they have used to sign Stanley Johnson and Alfonzo McKinnie. They are also allowed more hardship extensions if they need to acquire more players.
The call for a postponement is understandable, seeing as they are missing their dynamic duo, LaVine, and DeRozan. Nonetheless, the league only recognizes the number of players and not the caliber of players.
The Bulls have lost two of their last three games without DeRozan, and missing LaVine will also impact the team negatively. Although they still rank third in the Eastern Conference with a 17-10 record, they could drop further with their star players out.
It is worth noting that the outbreak seems to be under control. At this stage, it is unclear if the team will opt to add more players or not.
