The NBA has postponed Sunday’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, the league announced.
Five Cavaliers players tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday morning, including center Jarrett Allen, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Allen is having an All-Star-caliber season with averages of 16.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
The Cavaliers announced that Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard had entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The five players joined Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro in the protocols.
Cleveland’s shortage of players precipitated the postponement, sources said.
The Hawks, meanwhile, had already lost All-Star guard Trae Young for Sunday’s game after he tested positive for COVID-19 and entered the league protocols, sources said.
The game was one of three postponed Sunday, as the Denver Nuggets–Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans–Philadelphia 76ers contests were also called off.
Earlier this week, league sources told ESPN that the NBA and National Basketball Players Association were discussing a plan that would require teams decimated by COVID-19 to sign additional replacement players to avoid games being postponed.
In the proposed plan, after the first case of COVID-19, a team would be permitted to add a 10-day player, league sources said, but after a second, third and fourth case, teams would be required to add a 10-day player. Teams would be limited to three replacement players, but the new plan would, overall, require teams to maintain enough depth so that the NBA wouldn’t be forced to cancel or postpone games because some teams didn’t have the league-required eight healthy players.
Sources told ESPN that those talks have been ongoing through the weekend.
