Five more games postponed by NBA amid rising COVID-19 cases

The NBA announced on Sunday that it is postponing five more games as the league grapples with rising COVID-19 cases.

The five postponed matchups are: Denver at Brooklyn, Cleveland at Atlanta, New Orleans at Philadelphia, Orlando at Toronto and Washington at Brooklyn. The five games were set to take place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The league said in a statement the games are being postponed “because of players and staff members entering the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols.”

The NBA has announced the following: pic.twitter.com/rnNhuq0hc1

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 19, 2021

Six NBA players have entered the league’s protocol in addition to one coach, according to the Associated Press, who spoke with a source regarding the matter. Those players include five from the Cleveland Cavaliers: Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, Jarrett Allen, RJ Nembhard and Denzel Valentine.

Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young and Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel have also entered the league’s protocol, according to AP.

Last week, the league said they would be tightening some of their COVID-19 restrictions in an effort to curb coronavirus spread, including mandating that teams wear masks unless players are on the court or during games for head coaches. 

The NBA is not the only league to postpone games. The NFL announced on Friday it would be postponing games amid a surge of new cases, and several games have already been postponed by the NHL.

President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that it was likely the United States would see record numbers of cases, deaths and hospitalizations as the omicron variant makes its way across the United States. 

“It is going to be tough. We can’t walk away from that, Jake. We can’t, because, with omicron that we’re dealing with, it is going to be a tough few weeks to months as we get deeper into the winter,” Fauci said during “State of the Union” on CNN.