Heading into the 2020-21 season, the nba did not release a full schedule. They chose to release just the first half, which ends on March 4. It did so because of health concerns during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and to give itself added flexibility in the event that games had to be rescheduled.
Since the onset of this season, nearly a dozen games have already been postponed because of coronavirus.
On Wednesday, the league announced three schedule changes in a press release. It read:
“The National Basketball Association announced today that it will reschedule during the First Half of the season certain games that were previously postponed. In addition, certain games that were otherwise scheduled for the Second Half will now be scheduled into the First Half, with a more specific focus on the teams with the most postponed games to date. To create maximum flexibility, dates of existing games may also be moved in order to schedule additional games into the First Half.”
The changes in the league’s schedule are as follows:
-Portland Trail Blazers vs. Washington Wizards – February 2 (originally scheduled for second half of the season)
-Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets – February 7 (rescheduled from January 20)
-Portland Trail Blazers at Charlotte Hornets – Postponed (moved to second half of the season)
The Wizards had six straight postponed games in the middle of January because of a coronavirus outbreak. Moving all the games to the second half would have created issues not only for them, but also for the teams they were set to face.
