Wolves Health and Safety Protocols Update Thread

[minimus]

Sounds like KAT got it again

Sheesh. That man, like he said himself, can't catch a freaking break. Here's hoping he won't have to go through the same **** as he did last year and the vaccine and maybe some remaining antibodies from last year will have any effect.

If anyone single player in the entire league got the booster it is KAT. I have hope that the vaccine will keep it somewhat mild if not entirely asymptomatic.

He is asymptomatic

[winforlose]

Sheesh. That man, like he said himself, can't catch a freaking break. Here's hoping he won't have to go through the same **** as he did last year and the vaccine and maybe some remaining antibodies from last year will have any effect.

If anyone single player in the entire league got the booster it is KAT. I have hope that the vaccine will keep it somewhat mild if not entirely asymptomatic.

He is asymptomatic

Presently, I meant over the course of the illness. No one should have to suffer from serious Covid, much less twice.

[_AIJ_]

All of our starting five are now OUT due to covid

[Wolves21]

If ANT doesn't comeback for Mon & Tue games those could be extremely ugly.If we lose Beasley I don't think we could even crack 50 points in a game.

[shangrila]

I get what Chicago fans were complaining about earlier.

We faced a full strength Utah team with DLo and bench players. Now we've lost all of our starters? What is even the point?

[Merc_Porto]

The NBA is handling this situation so badly.
This is a matter of luck at this point, there are teams in full strength and other teams without the starters (best players, like us)

Is not fair for the competition.
Do even have 8 players to play on Monday?

[IceManBK1]

Dlo sees nxt matchup=Celtics.. Enlists himself in the covid protocol list cuz he's scared. I think his horrible shooting will linger on until end of season. Some clamoring him to be allstar, allstar mine behind..

[fattymcgee]

Dlo sees nxt matchup=Celtics.. Enlists himself in the covid protocol list cuz he's scared. I think his horrible shooting will linger on until end of season. Some clamoring him to be allstar, allstar mine behind..

He's extremely important to the Wolves, but he's not an all-star. Good player, but too many guys ahead of him. And his offensive numbers aren't all-star worthy

[fattymcgee]

All of our starting five are now OUT due to covid

This is so effing ridiculous! The ENTIRE starting lineup plus two rotation players and Wright.

Has this ever happened before where all 5 starters are out?

I'm sure the NBA will change their protocols after our guys come back so we (and a handful of other teams) get screwed.

[winforlose]

All of our starting five are now OUT due to covid

This is so effing ridiculous! The ENTIRE starting lineup plus two rotation players and Wright.

Has this ever happened before where all 5 starters are out?

I'm sure the NBA will change their protocols after our guys come back so we (and a handful of other teams) get screwed.

I said last week after the first two players got put in the protocols that it wouldn’t end there, and it likely still isn’t over. I doubt we play our next game and certainly not the one after that. Soon two or three more of our guys and a couple of the guys from the Jazz will test positive.

[shrink]

All of our starting five are now OUT due to covid

This is so effing ridiculous! The ENTIRE starting lineup plus two rotation players and Wright.

Has this ever happened before where all 5 starters are out?

I'm sure the NBA will change their protocols after our guys come back so we (and a handful of other teams) get screwed.

I said last week after the first two players got put in the protocols that it wouldn’t end there, and it likely still isn’t over. I doubt we play our next game and certainly not the one after that. Soon two or three more of our guys and a couple of the guys from the Jazz will test positive.

I agree this is ridiculous, but I doubt we will see many more cancelations. The NBA does not want the season to run late again, and wants teams to get a full off-season to make money and protect the players. Silver said last week that are canceled are expected to be made up during this season before the playoffs, even if teams have to play on three consecutive nights. They also put in new rules requiring teams to replace every player that is put in the protocols, and are even subsidizing it to some extent. The final rule states that your replacement players can’t all mysteriously not make it to the game in time, to prevent any more cancelations.

Look, with all the NBA players going into health and safety protocols, basketball is going to be ugly for a while, with non-NBA players covering a lot of minutes. We’re hit now, but most teams have gone through it, or soon will. A Bubble isn’t feasable, and these crappy games is the league and the players trying to do their best with a crappy situation that they did not create.

[Basti]

Seeing how quickly the entire league went from a handful cases to 50-80 new cases within a week or ten days, there's almost a guarantee it won't stop there. Particuarly if we are talking Omicron. It spreads like a wildfire during dry season. If the NBA won't shut down soon, every team will see heaps of their players be put into protocol very soon.

[winforlose]

Seeing how quickly the entire league went from a handful cases to 50-80 new cases within a week or ten days, there's almost a guarantee it won't stop there. Particuarly if we are talking Omicron. It spreads like a wildfire during dry season. If the NBA won't shut down soon, every team will see heaps of their players be put into protocol very soon.

I was specifically referring to us and our most recent (and most healthy,) opponents, but you are exactly right. What is terrifying about all this is that so many players are fully vaccinated and still getting it. I wonder what the booster rate is?

[Mattya]

If they haven’t shut down yet, they won’t later. We will likely see a much larger spread after the holidays as well. Hopefully everyone is only very mildly symptomatic or not at all and get through this.

[Calinks]

For people complaining about how the NBA is handling this though, what do you want them to do? Shut down for two weeks? Would that really help? Wouldn't played be as likely if not more likely to catch covid if they are free for two weeks? Yea some guys who are out now will come back but won't players who are clean now start catching it? I don't think that helps.

Postpone the season until Omicron number peel off? How long with all that take? 2 months? 6 months?

Do we shut down two weeks and force players to quarantine and bubble again?

I mean, what is the realistic alternative you would like to see? Maybe I'm missing something here but the way I see it, I think you are just rolling the dice. Likely that most teams will get hit hard, maybe some if they are incredibly cautious will avoid big losses but a this point I think everyone is in the same screwed boat.

[karch34]

There’s no good answer. I think it’s more shock that the one league that appeared ahead of it last year is in this state is surprising as to where they are now.

[winforlose]

I posted this on CanisHoopus and I thought I would share it here.

With all the talk about whether the season should be paused or what games are or should be postponed, I wanted to ask a simple question that has been on my mind. Given the extreme power of the players association and the dollar amounts at stake for these athletes (whose earning years are very limited,) is it truly wrong for the league to continue playing? I ask because many businesses are open and have no vaccine mandates with workers in very close quarters. The players for better or worse depend on their contract salary to provide for their lifetime. Obviously smart investing and careful brand maintenance help, but these years are essential in these mens lives. If they are willing to take the risk with their help and have options to opt out without penalty to themselves, is it right for the fans or the media or anyone to tell them no?

As for the public health component, cities could ban live audiences, they could prohibit large gatherings, or athletic competition, they choose not to. Can we really say people can go to a movie theater to see Spider-Man but not to Target Center or the Madison Square Garden to watch a similar length event?

Ultimately I have problems with the implementation of the Covid protocols. My personal preference would be a suspension of the season for the health and well being of the players and the fans. I also have objections regarding the integrity of the standings given the disproportionate Covid impact. But what keeps giving me pause is the NBA is first and foremost a business. It exists to enrich its owners and employees. If they are willing to make compromises and the powers that be are held accountable by the players association and local authorities, why is it wrong for the NBA to continue to make money?

[winforlose]

We should sign Isaiah Thomas ASAP. Without Dlo or Wright even when we get Bev back we need another PG.

[Basti]

Seeing how quickly the entire league went from a handful cases to 50-80 new cases within a week or ten days, there's almost a guarantee it won't stop there. Particuarly if we are talking Omicron. It spreads like a wildfire during dry season. If the NBA won't shut down soon, every team will see heaps of their players be put into protocol very soon.

I was specifically referring to us and our most recent (and most healthy,) opponents, but you are exactly right. What is terrifying about all this is that so many players are fully vaccinated and still getting it. I wonder what the booster rate is?

Early studies of the omicron variant (that are based on limited data unfortunately) seem to indicate a much lower grade of protection against an infection. I can't quite remember whether it was an early report from South Africa or from Norway but it was said that it appears two shots of m-RNA vaccine will give you only about 33% of protection against an infection. Getting a 3rd shot should increase that number but the early reports indicate a much lower protection against an infection.

However, early reports also indicate a much lower chance for getting a serious case. It appears omicron goes rampant in the upper respitorty section rather than attack the lungs. I truly hope this is the case and will give the vast majority of infected people a mild case. The aforementioned report from Norway, for example, has stated that out of the 70-100 infected attendants of a christmas party, virtually everyone had minor symptons. I think outside of maybe one of those, all of them had two shots of m-RNA vaccine and were relatively young. The amount of data is not enough to draw any definite conclusions but there is hope that omicron isn't as dangerous as other variants to the individual person.

[Basti]

For people complaining about how the NBA is handling this though, what do you want them to do? Shut down for two weeks? Would that really help? Wouldn't played be as likely if not more likely to catch covid if they are free for two weeks? Yea some guys who are out now will come back but won't players who are clean now start catching it? I don't think that helps.

Postpone the season until Omicron number peel off? How long with all that take? 2 months? 6 months?

Do we shut down two weeks and force players to quarantine and bubble again?

I mean, what is the realistic alternative you would like to see? Maybe I'm missing something here but the way I see it, I think you are just rolling the dice. Likely that most teams will get hit hard, maybe some if they are incredibly cautious will avoid big losses but a this point I think everyone is in the same screwed boat.

I am not complaining at all. I honestly don't want anyone to have to make that kind of decision. You can basically only lose.