NBA cancels Tuesday's Bulls-Celtics game
The Bulls returned from a six-day West Coast road trip to the news that Tuesday's scheduled home game against the Boston Celtics has been canceled.
A statement released by the NBA said simply that the postponement was in accordance with the league's health and safety protocols.
The league has been requiring teams to play games as long as there are eight players eligible to participate. The Celtics do not have enough players available and already had a game against Miami canceled on Sunday. Boston leading scorer Jayson Tatum reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and many of the other Celtics were forced out due to contact tracing.
A New Orleans at Dallas game on Monday was also canceled due to the Mavericks not having enough players available.
The Bulls currently have two players — Chandler Hutchison and Tomas Satoransky — out after positive COVID tests. Coach Billy Donovan said Hutchison stayed in Washington after testing positive last week and experienced some symptoms, but was expected to return to Chicago by Tuesday.
Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono missed the now-completed road trip because of contact tracing stemming from Hutchison's positive test. Donovan thought Markkanen and Arcidiacono would be available to play Tuesday.
Assuming there are no changes to the schedule, the Bulls will be off until Friday when they start a two-game road trip in Oklahoma City, followed by a date in Dallas on Sunday.
This is the primary reason the NBA released just the first half of the 2020-21 schedule. Games that are postponed will presumably be made up during the second half of the season.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls