Like every NBA franchise this December, the Portland Trail Blazers are struggling to field an intact roster after being swept by COVID-19. Portland has lost Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington, several reserve players, Head Coach Chauncey Billups, and Assistant Coach Roy Rogers to NBA Health and Safety Protocols in the last week. As a result, they’ve had to onboard several new players—inexperienced in the league, not just with the team—to make the minimum roster requirement of eight.
That’s the obvious cost of dealing with the virus, but Trail Blazers writer Casey Holdahl pointed out another in an article on the Blazers’ website today: safety precautions prevent the team from holding meaningful practices.