Toronto Raptors stuck in another tough spot amid COVID-19 outbreak
As the Toronto Raptors try to deal with another COVID-19 outbreak, the NBA continues to put the team in a tough spot.
If you watched the entirety of the Toronto Raptors‘ 144-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, major kudos because that might have been the worst game you could ever watch the team play.
When you consider what the team went through last season, it’s hard to not draw parallels. At the same time, this situation might be worse when you consider what Toronto has had to do to even be in a position to play a game.
Take into account the team only found out hours before tipoff that they were going to play a game. Add onto the fact that they had to find four replacement players signed to hardship contracts to meet the required eight players needed.
No offence to Yuta Watanabe, Chris Boucher, Dalano Banton and Svi Mykhailiuk but no team can expect to compete with those four players as your regulars. With 10 players in health and safety protocols, there’s not much the team can do right now but hopefully, the NBA’s new protocols to shorten the quarantine period can offer help.
At this rate, the team just has to find a way to get by until they get reinforcements back. Unfortunately, the team is trying to be as cautious as possible because they are trying to limit potential exposure which doesn’t help when you have four players brought in on 10-day deals.
The NBA is trying to find a way to ensure their season doesn’t go off the rails with teams dealing with outbreaks. At the same time, you can’t blame fans if they’re not excited by the quality of basketball being played.
Right now, the NBA is right in the middle of how the NFL and NHL are currently handling COVID-19. The NHL did a complete shutdown by starting their holiday break early and not putting teams in positions where they are not even able to dress a proper roster.
Then there is the NFL, who are trying to limit testing and pushing games a few days later in hopes of not having to reschedule later in the season. For any Raptors fans questioning NBA’s decision-making, they need to remember that they are playing a league where all but one team play in the United States who don’t view COVID-19 in the same way as Canada for the most part.
If you want to look on the bright side though, the Raptors situation is providing players with the chance to play for NBA scouts. Who knows maybe one or two get another look with Toronto at some point.
What do you think about the Raptors COVID-19 situation? Do you think they will gain any benefit from it? Let us know in the comments below.