NBA postpones Bulls-Hornets due to contact tracing originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bulls' attempt to build on Monday's gritty overtime victory at the Pacers will have to wait.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that Wednesday's matchup against the Hornets scheduled in Charlotte has been postponed in accordance with the league's health and safety protocols.
The league said the Spurs have four players who tested positive for COVID-19. The Spurs played in Charlotte on Sunday night and have been quarantined there since. Additional contact tracing is needed for both teams, which is why the league is postponing the next three Spurs' games and the next two for the Hornets.
This marks the third time the Bulls have had a game postponed. Despite the Bulls enduring their own COVID-19 issues, with positive tests for Chandler Hutchison and Tomáš Satoranský during the season and more for Garrett Temple and Noah Vonleh during the preseason, they have not been responsible for any of their postponements. The Celtics and Grizzlies both didn't have enough players to face the Bulls earlier this season.
The Bulls stayed over in Indianapolis Monday night instead of flying to Charlotte postgame because of the snowstorm that covered the Midwest. With no game now scheduled until Friday in Philadelphia, the Bulls' immediate travel plans were unclear.
Sports
Coach Billy Donovan has talked about the previous two postponements as positives, giving practice and recovery time to his team. However, with Wendell Carter Jr. impressively returning from his quad injury Monday night and the hard-fought victory, this postponement robs both Carter and the Bulls of an opportunity to build momentum.
The NBA only released the first half of the 2020-21 regular-season schedule to allow flexibility for the rescheduling of postponed games.
Click here to subscribe to the Bulls Talk Podcast for free.
