The Charlotte Hornets are the latest team to deal with a handful of players getting placed into the NBA’s health and safety protocols. According to multiple reports, the team was forced to put its starting backcourt of LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier into the protocols, meaning they will be sidelined for at least the next 10 days unless they present a pair of negative COVID tests.
Charlotte Hornets guards LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier have both entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols and are expected to miss several games, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 4, 2021
Ball and Rozier are expected to be sidelined for at least 10 days, or unless they record two negative tests in a 24-hour period moving forward, sources said. Charlotte will be without its young star and fellow starting guard for the time being. https://t.co/6EGuscCDBI
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 4, 2021
After Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier entered into health and safety protocols, there’s concern of more possible positive Covid tests on the Hornets, sources tell ESPN. Team sent players and staff home from practice facility.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2021
That last tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN ended up being prescient, as the Hornets would go on to announce that another starter, Mason Plumlee, and reserve forward Jalen McDaniels will both enter the protocols, too.
UPDATE: @hornets have placed the following players in the NBA's Health and Safety Protocols: LaMelo Ball, Jalen McDaniels, Mason Plumlee and Terry Rozier
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) December 4, 2021
The Hornets currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-11 record. While that would put them in the play-in tournament, that puts them a half game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 6-seed and one game up on the New York Knicks for the 11-seed in the East. Unfortunately for Charlotte, this is hitting at quite the inopportune time, as their next three games are a road trip to play the Atlanta Hawks before a back-to-back at home against the Philadelphia 76ers, both of whom are also in the play-in tournament as of right now. Should these four players be out for 10 days, they’d also miss games against the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
