Wizards vs. Hornets Postponed Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Rob Goldberg @TheRobGoldbergFeatured ColumnistJanuary 18, 2021

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The NBA announced Monday that the upcoming Washington Wizards game against the Charlotte Hornets scheduled for Wednesday at Spectrum Center will be postponed, per Chris Miller of NBC Sports Washington.

Washington does not have the required eight players to compete as a result of contact tracing from COVID-19.

Ava Wallace of the Washington Post and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski provided more details:

Ava Wallace @avarwallace
The Wizards have had a seventh player test positive, per sources, and one staff member. No staff had tested positive before now. Wizards brought eligible players in for individual work over the weekend but haven't gathered as a group since last Monday.

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
There's hope the Wizards -- with six healthy players now -- could practice again as soon as Wednesday, source tells ESPN. Although they've had seven positive tests among players, some could soon be cleared to play again. Wizards haven't played a game or practiced in a full week.

This is the fifth straight Wizards game that will be postponed because of health and safety protocols, with the team last playing Jan. 11. The next scheduled game is against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

The squad is off to a 3-8 start to the season, although Bradley Beal is the NBA's leading scorer with an average of 34.9 points per game.

The Hornets (6-8) had avoided any postponements until now, but the NBA has been dealing with significant schedule adjustments over the past week as a result of outbreaks around the league.

According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, the Wizards had six players test positive for COVID-19, leading to nine players in the safety protocols because of contact tracing.

The NBA is reportedly considering expanding rosters with more two-way players to give additional flexibility when players are unavailable, per Wojnarowski.

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