The NBA Postponed The Charlotte Hornets’ Next Two Games
The NBA has postponed the Charlotte Hornets’ next two games, against the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets, due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Charlotte Hornets won’t play another game before Saturday and won’t practice again until at least Friday.
The NBA has postponed the Hornets’ home games Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls and Friday against the Denver Nuggets. That was in response to the San Antonio Spurs — who played the Hornets Sunday at Spectrum Center — having four players test positive for COVID-19. The Spurs stayed in Charlotte Monday, as those diagnoses started, and their next three games have been postponed.
The Hornets’ home game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday has not yet been postponed. After that, the Hornets are scheduled to leave on a six-game trip through the Western Conference.
The Hornets already had three players (P.J. Washington and Cody and Caleb Martin) out under COVID-19 protocols unrelated to the Spurs game. While additional testing and contact tracing goes on, the Hornets have been told by the NBA not to hold team practices before at least Friday.
Each player can work out individually with a coach, but access to Spectrum Center is limited and in-person meetings aren’t permitted. It’s similar to the six months the Hornets spent without team activities after last season was abruptly ended by the pandemic in March.
“I’ll find ways to get creative — we’ve done this before,” Borrego said in a media conference call. “I think the (teaching) stuff between now and Friday will be done through Zoom (video calls) — watching some film with small groups — plus individual stuff (on-court), as far as shots and conditioning.”
If the Hornets had to go through a season pause, then this might be a good time for a break. By the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Spurs, they were missing three starters — power forward Washington (health and safety protocols), small forward Gordon Hayward (lower-back discomfort) and guard Devonte Graham (left knee patella femoral discomfort).
