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Dallas Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis will sit out the Mavs' scrimmage on Sunday after forgetting to take his required COVID-19 test the day before.
A similar situation occurred on Saturday involving Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, who sat out the team's scrimmage against the New Orleans Pelicans for missing his COVID-19 test on Friday. Millsap was required to quarantine in his windowless room for a day until he received a negative test.
Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle talked to Porzingis and claimed the big man was “contrite” for his gaffe:
Rick Carlisle says Porzingis is unavailable for today's game. He broke a protocol and forgot to get tested yesterday. For safety reasons, he cannot join the Mavs today. Carlisle said he believes he can join Mavs tomorrow. "I did speak to him and he was contrite," Carlisle said.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) July 26, 2020
Carlisle is appreciative of how serious the NBA is taking its protocols:
"Something like this I think all of us can take as a cautionary tale," Carlisle said. It's another indicator of how serious the NBA and health officials are taking these protocols.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) July 26, 2020
While in the Orlando bubble, players are required to receive daily testing. Any missed coronavirus tests will disallow them from participating in any activities for that day and until negative results come back.
The good news for the Mavs is this incident happened now, and not during their playoff push.
On Friday, the team participated in its first scrimmage, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers by a score of 108-104. Porzingis scored eight points (3-of-6 shooting) in 15 minutes.
Dallas (40-27) currently sits at the No. 7 slot in the Western Conference, seven games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies (32-33). A playoff berth would mean the first postseason action for Porzingis and Luka Doncic in their careers.
The Mavs are shorthanded in the frontcourt at the moment, as center Dwight Powell is out for the reason with a ruptured Achilles and Willie Cauley-Stein opted out of the bubble due to the impending birth of his daughter. (Is that Boban's music?)
Dallas officially resumes its season on Friday, July 31, facing off against the Houston Rockets.
