COVID-19 continued to wreak havoc on the NBA's schedule, with the league postponing Thursday's game between the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets. It is the 11th postponed game in the NBA this season, with COVID-19 outbreaks spreading like wildfire across the league.
Mike Malone and 3 Nuggets players test positive for COVID-19
The league decided just hours before tipoff, with the Nuggets unable to field the necessary eight players needed to play the game. Nuggets guard Bones Hyland and forwards Jeff Green and Zeke Nnaji tested positive for COVID-19 and were placed on the league's health and safety protocols.
The virus did not spare Denver's coaching staff with head coach Michael Malone and two of his assistant coaches entering the NBA's COVID protocols as well on Thursday. Malone joins Frank Vogel (Los Angeles Lakers), Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns), Billy Donovan (Chicago Bulls), Chauncey Billups (Portland Trail Blazers), Doc Rivers (Philadelphia 76ers), and Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City Thunder) as NBA coaches who have entered the league's COVID-19 protocols.
What made the situation even more difficult for the Nuggets was that they had several players dealing with injuries. Aaron Gordon, Austin Rivers, Monte Morris, and Vlatko Cancar were all listed as questionable ahead of Thursday's game.
The league has mechanisms in place to help teams survive a roster shortage like this. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they do not have a G League team in their market. That denied them the opportunity to shore up their roster with new players via hardship deals on short notice.
Related Article: Postponements Hit NBA as COVID-19 Concerns Intensify; Games of Cavs, 76ers, Nets Cancelled
Draymond Green furious with NBA's decision to postpone game
One guy who was not happy with the league's decision to postpone the game was Warriors forward Draymond Green. He vented his frustrations on social media, tweeting, "How do you continue to cancel games when you've implemented rules to prevent this from happening? Is that not a competitive advantage for other teams?"
Green added that they had several players missing in Tuesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets, but they still went on and played the game. Green's main beef with the league is that when they face the Nuggets on a later date, Denver will now be at full strength. Green said that is unfair to them since they faced the Nuggets with a player disadvantage just two days ago.
To make matters worse for Golden State, the postponement would likely add a back-to-back to the Warriors' schedule later on, which according to Green, is also an advantage for Denver. Green and the Warriors were already in Denver when they received the news of the postponement. They are scheduled to practice in Colorado on Friday before traveling to Utah to face the Jazz on Saturday.
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