Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will quarantine due to a positive test for COVID-19, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald is reporting. While Tatum is asymptomatic and will undergo a second test to confirm the results of the first, the forward will miss up to two weeks.
Tatum's loss is the most significant blow yet to a Celtics squad that has endured injuries and COVID-19 concerns all season. Having already started the season without their lead ball-handler in point guard Kemba Walker, who has been dealing with a lingering knee injury, Boston is now dealing with a coronavirus outbreak.
After the team announced that center Robert Williams had tested positive for the virus, the Celtics quarantined Tatum as well as Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams per the league's contract tracing protocols. With all four appearing asymptomatic, there was hope that they could activate the player after only a 7-10 day period.
Tatum's positive test Saturday has dashed those hopes.
The spread among the Celtics roster is only one of multiple outbreaks currently besieging the league. Besides Boston, the Philadelphia 76ers considered postponing their match against the Denver Nuggets Saturday due to a lack of men available. Additionally, the Dallas Mavericks announced that three of their players would be unavailable due to their spread of the virus.
While the knowledge that COVID-19 is quickly becoming a concern across the NBA serving as cold comfort to the Celtics, the team must now find a way to remain competitive over the coming two weeks. For an organization that prided itself on its depth, its margin of error has quickly collapsed.