Celtics-Heat postponed; NBA reportedly plans to continue season
Sunday's game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat has been postponed, the NBA announced.
Miami doesn't have the required eight players available to participate in the game due to contact tracing. A Heat player also produced an inconclusive COVID-19 test, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports.
In addition to the Heat's roster troubles, the Celtics were set to enter Sunday's contest with only eight available players. Nine Boston players wouldn't have been able to dress, including seven due to the league's health and safety protocols.
This marks the second postponed game due to COVID-19 measures since the season began on Dec. 22. The Houston Rockets had their scheduled Dec. 23 season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder pushed back because they didn't have eight players available.
Despite the NBA's latest postponement, the league doesn't plan to pause the 2020-21 season, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The league's reasoning reportedly stems in part from its belief that halting play would ultimately increase the risk of infection.
"We anticipated that there would be game postponements this season and planned the schedule accordingly," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Wojnarowski.