Another NBA game has been postponed due to COVID. This time it's the contest between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The game has been postponed after contact tracing has forced eight Sixers players to go into quarantine, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Contact tracing with Sixers left them short eight players. https://t.co/LPDtNoWcZR
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2021
This is the 15th game to be postponed already this season, though many both inside and outside the league were concerned with the possibility of COVID-19 delays heading into the 2020-2021 season.
There are a number of reasons for why many expected the NBA to have issues with postponements. For one, the league was the first to put a halt to the their 2019-20 campaign last March, setting off a chain reaction that shut down all of sports. The second reason is numbers. With only 15 players per team, even one player being forced to quarantine creates a big hole. Also, with the sport being played indoors, it creates more issues than outdoor sports like football do, with the virus being trapped into an enclosed area.
The league has not made any official announcement on how they will address the rising amount of postponements. The season already had to be delayed due to the late finish to the previous season.
Another added issue the league has to contend with is the looming, as of right now still on, Olympics that are scheduled for this summer. Basketball is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with many NBA players participating. One way the league has discussed coping with the issue is by expanding the roster of each team. While discussions are ongoing with the NBPA, nothing official has been decided on.
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