NBA adjusts schedules for virus-affected teams, like Wizards

Washington’s second-half schedule might t be as jam-packed as first thought, after NBA said Wednesday it was rescheduling some Wizards games after a half-dozen of ir contests were postponed in recent weeks for virus-related reasons.

Portland will w visit Washington on Tuesday, a game that was originally set for second half. Washington will play at Charlotte on Feb. 7, a game that was rescheduled from Jan. 20. And that means Blazers, who were scheduled to visit Hornets that day, will w go to Charlotte in second half of schedule.

league has postponed 22 games so far this season, 21 of m since Jan. 10. original intent was to push all those postponed games into second half, when possible; w, league said it would move some games into first-half schedules, “with a specific focus on teams with most postponed games to date.”

That would certainly include Washington and Memphis, both of which have seen a league-high six games postponed. Wizards went 13 days without games after six players tested positive for COVID-19 and three ors h to sit out because of contact tracing. Grizzlies will have gone 12 days without games if y play, as planned, in San Antonio on Saturday.

Some good news for league on Wednesday: Grizzlies said y were returning to practice.

And even better news: NBA and National Basketball Players Association said Wednesday that only one player in league tested positive for COVID-19 in past seven days, down from 16 two weeks ago and 11 last week. It remains possible that some of stronger protocols put in place earlier this month, such as t allowing players to leave hotels on ro trips for almost any reason or than games or practices, may be somewhat loosened soon as well.

Without schedule changes by NBA, Wizards and Grizzlies may have been looking at playing 41 times in 67 days during second half of season — which will stretch from March 11 through May 16.

Boston and Phoenix have h three games postponed apiece so far, and it’s t yet kwn if ir first-half schedules will be justed.

Teams also began arriving Wednesday at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, to begin quarantine and prepping for G League season, which — like NBA did last season — will utilize a bubble.

G League released its 135-game schedule for 18 teams that will be taking part. All teams will play 15 games from Feb. 10 through March 6. top eight will go to a single-elimination playoff, and G League championship game is set for March 11 — same day NBA’s second half is set to open and one-year anniversary of day league suspended play last season because of pandemic.