It appears increasingly likely Karl-Anthony Towns‘ fears were founded.
Towns questioned why the Timberwolves were even playing the Hornets on Friday. Charlotte had three players – Caleb Martin, Cody Martin and P.J. Washington – out due to coronavirus protocols. But the game happened as scheduled.
Then, the Hornets played the Spurs on Sunday.
Now, four San Antonio players have tested positive for coronavirus. The Spurs – who already had tonight’s game against the Pistons postponed – have three more games postponed. Charlotte has its next two games postponed.
NBA release:
The San Antonio Spurs’ next three games (Wednesday, Feb. 17 at Cleveland; Saturday, Feb. 20 at New York and Monday, Feb. 22 at Indiana) and the Charlotte Hornets’ next two games (Wednesday, Feb. 17 vs. Chicago and Friday, Feb. 19 vs. Denver) have been postponed in accordance with the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols.
The games are being postponed due to four Spurs players testing positive and additional contact tracing for players on both San Antonio’s and Charlotte’s rosters, and in order to ensure the health and safety of players on both teams.
The four Spurs players didn’t necessarily get coronavirus because they played Charlotte. We don’t know that anyone on the Hornets contracted coronavirus. The Martin Twins and Washington could be out for contact tracing. It’s also uncertain the four San Antonio players got it from the same place or each other. Coronavirus is spreading throughout the country.
But this looks like the worst-case scenario for the NBA – spread between teams during a game and a team-wide outbreak.
Why were the Hornets even playing? The league recently showed more caution in holding games with a single positive test. Again, Martin, Martin and Washington didn’t necessarily test positive. But something appears amiss.
