When it seemed that the cases of Covid-19 had stopped having such an impact on the league, the virus could be one of the main enemies of the Boston Celtics in these Conference Finals. After Al Hoford missed the Game 1 against Miami (except for surprise, several more will be lost) due to the league’s health protocols, several members of the franchise’s travel team have begun to test positive in the tests carried out, as reported by Brian Windhorst, a journalist from ESPN. This has generated concern in the team environment, since it is not yet clear what the impact of this outbreak will be.
Horford was present for the team’s shooting session ahead of Game 1 against the Heat, which took place a few hours before the news broke, so his absence caught his teammates off guard as they prepared to head to the arena. . The rest of the cases in the Celtics staff have generated a certain fear that other players will end up being dropped for these reasons, although for now it seems that they have managed to avoid further contagion.
In the case of the Dominican, this is the third time that he has been removed due to illness this season, since he already had to undergo the health protocols in preseason and in December. On that occasion, the center was out for five games, an amount that if repeated now would be a big problem for his team, who would not have him again until practically the end of the series. Since the latest rumors indicate that Horford has symptoms, this seems the most likely case, although for now there is nothing confirmed and the NBA rules include several scenarios in which he could be back sooner.
However, there is no doubt that this situation complicates these Conference Finals for Boston, which will be without one of its fundamental pieces for several games. All in all, we can only hope that Al is recovered as soon as possible and that these infections do not reach any other member of the squad.
(Cover photo: Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
