Up until today, the COVID-ravaged Celtics could at least boast that neither of their two stars had been affected. That changed this morning when Jayson Tatum was added to the Health and Safety Protocols, continuing a league-wide spike in positive cases.
“You're holding your breath day-by-day to see what the tests come back like," Ime Udoka said before the Christmas day game. "We've had quite a bit of this throughout the year with injuries and COVID before this latest outbreak, and so it's kind of go with who we have other guys step up. Guys were out with injury and other guys stepped up."
If there's any possible solace for Tatum, it's that the league may reduce the standard quarantine for players who test positive from 10 to six days, depending on test results. It's also possible he can test out early with consecutive negative tests.
Tatum's addition is particularly interesting because he suffered from COVID one year ago, and it was later revealed to be a Long COVID case. Tatum revealed months after his return that he still needed an inhaler to help him breathe properly. While experts are still learning the traits of the new COVID variant, Long COVID is feared to be one of them.
Tatum joins seven other Celtics in the protocols: Dennis Schröder, Aaron Nesmith, Josh Richardson, Bruno Fernando, Enes K. Freedom, Justin Jackson, and CJ Miles are all in protocols and are also out against Minnesota. Grant Williams is on the verge of exiting protocols, and is listed as questionable for tonight's game.
Side note: you can also add Marcus Smart to the injury list. He is questionable with a right-hand laceration.
Al Horford is no longer on the injury report, signaling his return from COVID. This was his second stint in protocols in just a couple of months, having missed the beginning of the season as well. He missed the Christmas day game due to reconditioning, but seems to be ready for tonight.
With Williams coming out as Tatum goes in, it's unlikely the Celtics will sign another hardship contract. As of right now, they still have 11 players available, not counting Smart or Williams. The minimum necessary to play is eight.
The Celtics are hardly alone in the NBA COVID outbreak. The Atlanta Hawks today announced 11 players in the Health and Safety Protocols, in addition to another two out with injuries.