Magic, dealing with COVID-19 issues, signs four from G League to have enough to play Heat
As the NBA works to address a recent surge of positive COVID-19 cases within the league, the Miami Heat is moving forward cautiously.
There were at least 47 players known to be in the league’s health and safety protocols as of Friday afternoon.
“It’s a little scary,” Heat forward and team captain Udonis Haslem said ahead of Friday night’s matchup against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. “The last thing we want to do is get any more bodies out. So we’re going to do the best we can, we’re going to be as responsible as we can and we’re going to try to stay safe.”
The Heat has one player in health and safety protocols. Two-way contract wing Caleb Martin entered protocols on Saturday and no other Heat players have since tested positive for COVID-19.
It looked like Miami’s game in Orlando was in jeopardy of being canceled, though, as the Magic deals with its own COVID-19 outbreak. The Magic canceled Friday’s morning shootaround and placed Mo Bamba, R.J. Hampton, Terrence Ross and Mo Wagner in protocols ahead of its game against the Heat.
They joined two-way forward Ignas Brazdeikis as Magic players in protocols. Brazdeikis entered protocols on Thursday night.
With Bamba, Brazdeikis, Hampton, Ross and Wagner unavailable against the Heat because of COVID-19 issues, the Magic also ruled out Cole Anthony (right ankle sprain), Michael Carter-Williams (left ankle injury recovery), Markelle Fultz (left knee injury recovery), Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury recovery), E’Twaun Moore (left knee sprain) and Jalen Suggs (right thumb fracture) because of injuries.
That left the Magic with six available players — two fewer than the league-minimum of eight players needed to play a game. But Orlando signed four players — forward Aleem Ford, guard Hassani Gravett, guard/forward B.J. Johnson and forward Admiral Schofield — to 10-day contracts via hardship exceptions from its G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, just a few hours before Friday’s game to get up to 10 available players and have enough to ultimately play the Heat.
The NBA has only canceled two games this season, and both were this week and involved the Chicago Bulls.
“I’m double vaccinated, I’m boosted, I’ve done everything I can,” Heat forward Duncan Robinson said. “I’ll wear a mask as often as I can. I try not to go out in public. Outside of that, we have to come out and compete. If we’re competing against guys who have it, then there’s a chance we get it. You expose yourself to the virus, there’s a chance you’re going to get it. It doesn’t matter how vaccinated or how protected you are. At a certain point, you just kind of got to keep chugging along.”
In an attempt to curb the wave of positive COVID-19 cases, the NBA adjusted its health and safety guidelines. The league and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to stricter protocols through the holidays, according to a memo shared with teams Thursday night.
The enhanced protocols include increased mask usage regardless of vaccination or booster status, with coaches, players and staff now again required to wear a mask in most situations. Masks need to be worn in almost all circumstances during team activities — including travel, when on the bench during games, in the locker, weight, and training room, when receiving treatment and during team meetings.
The stricter mask rules will be in place “until agreed otherwise by the NBA and Players Association.”
“I think everybody is just starting to tighten up, which is good, and everybody becoming more mindful,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We had to do this last year. There’s not like a textbook or blueprint we can go to. We’re building it as we go, but at least we can point to some of our experiences last year when we had to be a little bit more mindful and vigilant in all of the areas.”
The NBA and Players Association also agreed to enhanced testing from Dec. 26-Jan. 8. Players will be tested on game days and practice days except for those who received their booster shot 14-plus days earlier or recently recovered from the virus, the memo said.
Coaches and team staff will also need to be tested on game days and practice days during this two-week period.
“The league will do what they have to do,” Robinson said. “But ultimately the responsibility falls on the individual to protect themselves. You can do everything right and still end up with a positive case. So it’s just kind of the nature of the times that we’re living in, unfortunately. I don’t know how it’s going to play out. I guess we’ll all have to wait and see.”
The Heat’s roster is believed to be both fully vaccinated and fully boosted.
“You get the vaccine, you get the booster, you wash your hands, you wear your mask and then you just live life,” Haslem said. “I think when it gets to the point where it starts to affect the quality of life, that’s frustrating. So we can’t let it do that. We can only control what we can control. That’s taking care of yourself and being smart and being accountable.”
BAM BACK? NOT QUITE
Adebayo is not expected to return to game action until mid-January after undergoing successful surgery on Dec. 6 on a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. But the Heat’s starting center rejoined the team in Orlando ahead of Friday’s game against the Magic to rehab and workout alongside coaches and trainers.
“It’s great,” Spoelstra said of having Adebayo back around the team. “Even him just getting on the bus, everybody perking up and picking their heads up from their phone and saying, ‘Good morning.’ It’s a nice emotional boost for all of us to see him here with a smile on his face.”
Adebayo is also expected to accompany the Heat to Detroit for Sunday’s game against the Pistons to close its four-game trip.
As for Jimmy Butler, he remains in Miami recovering from a tail bone contusion. The expectation is Butler will return next week during the Heat’s four-game homestand that begins Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 2:08 PM.
