The Atlanta Hawks were impacted incredibly badly by Covid-19 last season. The protocols that were in place meant that the Hawks had to field the most ever players on a roster for a season. As a result, they were one of the few teams in the league who were not the cause of a game being rescheduled.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, it was their team star Trae Young who came down with the illness first and the rest of the team followed like nine-pins. This led to the Hawks having a less-than-impressive record over the Christmas period.
In fact, this seemed to sum up the entire 2021-22 campaign for the Hawks. They would lose players in the preseason and then when they got them back lose other key players. This was a big reason that the team was not able to develop the chemistry that head coach Nate McMillan was hoping the achieve.
Let’s take a look at the new Covid-19 protocols and how they may impact the Atlanta Hawks.
The Health and safety protocols which the NBA will be running by the season are as follows as per Shams of the Athletic.
NBA’s Health and Safety COVID-19 Protocols for 2022-23 season, per sources:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 30, 2022
- Once-weekly surveillance testing for unvaccinated players
- Vaccinated players only test when symptomatic
- Isolation immediately upon positive test
- Face masks not required
The big one here is the first protocol where unvaccinated players will be tested once a week. This means that players like Kyrie Irving are free to play anywhere that the state or country in question allows. This means that Irving will be free to play in most cities in the NBA. If he plays up to his superstar status, the Nets could challenge the Hawks for playoff seeding.
While the Hawks crisis from last season will not have been averted with the new protocols, they certainly show that the NBA believes that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. They are no longer going to enforce mask rules which will make life easier for all involved.