The Boston Celtics are among the many teams currently dealing with a very shorthanded roster due to players being out due to either positive COVID-19 tests or contact tracing. Their game on Sunday with the Heat was postponed due to Miami not having enough players to play, as the Celtics managed to find eight players to meet the minimum, but their game scheduled for tonight with the Bulls was postponed on Monday for their own issues.
Now, a third straight Boston game has been postponed due to the Celtics still having too many players in the health and safety protocols, with Wednesday night’s game against the Magic being pushed back as well.
The Celtics’ unwanted streak of game postponements is up to three in a row: Wednesday’s game against Orlando is officially off
Magic at Celtics on Friday is still TBD … pic.twitter.com/x8ldWUqZnl
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 12, 2021
Boston is also scheduled to play the Magic again on Friday, and per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s unknown if that game will be played yet as Orlando will not travel to Boston just yet.
The Magic and Celtics were scheduled to play Wednesday and Friday in Boston, but Magic won't be traveling today, sources tell ESPN. It is immediately unclear the status of the Friday game, but sources say Wednesday's game has been postponed.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2021
This now brings the NBA to five games postponed this season, with three of those involving the Celtics and seemingly more to come soon as teams like the Mavs have recently had to close their facilities due to ongoing outbreaks. The league and NBPA met recently to discuss changes to be made to the protocols, mostly involving player interactions after games, but without a bubble (which was a non-starter for the players) this is just going to be the reality for the league this year and we’re going to learn just how far they can go before needing to put a halt to play.
