Ime Udoka Shares ‘It’s Possible’ Some Celtics Test Out Of NBA Protocols

The Boston Celtics aren’t alone with their COVID-19 situation, but were quite shorthanded Friday night with the Golden State Warriors in town.

In the last few days, Al Horford, Grant Williams, Jabari Parker, Juancho Hernangomez and Sam Hauser all have entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols as part of the league’s recent spike. Prior to that, Josh Richardson was in and out of protocols pretty quickly, and there’s been a trend of false positives and asymptomatic cases across the league.

That’s the hope for at least some of the Celtics, too. Especially Horford, who already tested positive for COVID-19 this season in October.

“I think it’s possible,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said of some players potentially testing out of protocols after Boston’s loss to the Warriors. “You have to have two negatives. I think Josh was an example of that. He wasn’t out 10 full days, he had a few negatives and got back on the plane from Phoenix. So it happens. It’s across the league.”

Indeed it is. Udoka himself has tested positive for the virus in the season’s infancy, as did Jaylen Brown.

Hopefully the Celtics don’t lose anyone else.

“I think it’s just kind of the world we’re living in right now over the last two seasons, you know? It’s just kind of what everybody’s dealing with through all the leagues, football, hockey,” Tatum said of the virus impacting avaailability.

“It’s tough.”