Hornets lose two more key players to NBA’s health and safety protocols
It looks like the Charlotte Hornets aren’t going to be at full strength until sometime in 2022.
Miles Bridges and PJ Washington are out for Monday’s game against Houston due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols and their absence will likely extend into this upcoming weekend. They join Cody Martin, who has been out since last Sunday in Phoenix.
Charlotte’s home game Monday night will be their first since a five-game road trip that started almost two weeks ago.
This marks the third time in seven months Bridges will sit out because of health and safety protocols. He missed six games at the tail end of last season when the Hornets were in the midst of their playoff push, something that ultimately hurt then given how well he was playing prior to landing on the list. Charlotte went 2-4 without him and lost its grip on the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, finishing 10th and losing to ninth-seeded Indiana in the play-in tournament.
Bridges, along with Washington, also had to sit out a portion of the USA Select basketball camp in July after testing positive for COVID-19. The two were part of the 17 players practicing daily with the Olympic team in Las Vegas.
Bridges is otherwise as durable as they come, playing in all 37 games for the Hornets and averaging 19.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists this season.
Washington is coming off one of his best games of the season, helping the Hornets end their trip with a spirited victory in Denver. Losing him further depletes a bench that’s already been thin courtesy of Martin missing the past three games. Without him, that could mean more minutes at backup center for second-year big man Nick Richards and exacerbate an issue inside the Hornets haven’t yet solved. Coach James Borrego could also decide to go smaller on occasion and insert Jalen McDaniels at power forward.
Unless things are amended this week, Bridges and Washington will likely be sidelined for at least 10 days for the mandatory quarantine period unless they registered two negative PCR tests within 24 hours. Given all the extra interaction with friends and family during the holidays, the NBA began increased daily testing on Sunday. Reportedly, the league and the player’s association are in discussions about reducing the quarantine time down to six days.
If that were to happen this week, it would allow Martin, Bridges and Washington to return sooner than anticipated. A rule modification could have Martin back prior to their Wednesday matchup in Indiana, and Bridges and Washington on track to rejoin their teammates for their game against Phoenix on Sunday.
Bridges and Washington mark the ninth members of the Hornets to be placed in protocols since the preseason began. Besides Martin, others who’ve missed time include Gordon Hayward, LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Mason Plumlee, Ish Smith and McDaniels.
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 5:09 PM.
