Boston Celtics Fan Hot Take: The 2020-21 season should be put on hold

The game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat scheduled for Sunday night has been postponed. What should the NBA do about their rising COVID-19 cases?

The NBA postponed the game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics scheduled for Sunday night, as both teams were dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. The Cs had only eight players that were available to play — the minimum amount needed for a game — but it has been reported that the Heat could not hit that player threshold.

In turn, the game was postponed and will be played at a later date.

This is the second game of the season to be rescheduled, with the first being on opening night between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets. With more players being sidelined and quarantined due to health and safety protocols, this calls for a serious question: should the NBA season be suspended for a short period of time?

Obviously, no fan or team wants that to happen, but it might be the best course of action to attempt to sideline the outbreak in the league.

On Thursday, the Philadelphia 76ers played the Brooklyn Nets. When Philadelphia guard Seth Curry tested positive in the first quarter of the game, he was immediately removed, but many of their players are being forced to sit out for some time because of the health and safety protocols.

Because of this, the 76ers had to play their next game, against the Denver Nuggets, with only seven available players, one less than the minimum needed to play the game. This game was not canceled, however, likely because some of their players were out with injuries rather than for COVID reasons.

Mike Scott was in uniform on the bench even though he was out with injury, with his sole purpose of classifying as the eighth available player.

There’s no reason that a team should be forced to play their scheduled game if half their roster is unable to participate due to the pandemic. This is not like football where there are only 16 games, meaning postponing one would be more difficult to reschedule. With a 72 game slate, allowing for one or two games to be played at a later date is a completely feasible outcome.

A similar situation was slated to happen to the Boston Celtics, with Tristan Thompson, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Jaylen Brown, Semi Ojeleye, Jayson Tatum, and Javonte Green all unable to play because of the protocols.

Kemba Walker and Romeo Langford remain out due to other injuries.

After Robert Williams tested positive for COVID-19 on January 8th, there should be no reason for the team to continue playing their scheduled games. Sure, it’s possible he wasn’t in immediate proximity to some players, but there’s no way of knowing immediately.

Jayson Tatum was allowed to play their next game against the Wizards later that day. He then tested positive on January 9th.

It’s quite possible that he contracted the virus from Williams, and was still allowed to play their next game, potentially exposing both teams. Wizards star Bradley Beal is also being kept out due to COVID-19 protocols, as he came into close proximity with Tatum after the game.

Sure, that makes sense, but isn’t everyone on the court potentially exposed?

For the NBA to continue to hold games during this time is pretty irresponsible, but it was expected in this shortened season. Despite this, NBA spokesman Mike Bass reiterated that there are no plans to pause the season.

This can obviously change as the cases increase around the league, but don’t look for the NBA to suspend their season in the immediate future.

The Boston Celtics, for one, should be thankful that their game got postponed against the Miami Heat, as their only typical starter available for the game was Daniel Theis.

Aaron Nesmith would have been the only active wing on the roster, meaning he would probably need to play upwards of 40 minutes — for reference, 76ers rookie Tyrese Maxey was forced to play 44 minutes in their game against Denver, as they simply had no other adequate options at the position.

Most teams will go through a stretch that Boston is dealing with right now. It will be interesting to see how this two week period will affect the team’s playoff seeding later on down the line.

Nobody wants it to happen, but is it the right decision for the NBA to suspend their season to attempt to limit the number of COVID-19 cases ravaging the league?

I guess we’ll have to wait and see.