We are now beyond a full week into the NBA season’s hiatus due to novel coronavirus. What is happening around the Chicago Bulls world on March 20?
A slower day once again in the news cycle for the NBA, and the Chicago Bulls, was marked by a rather busy one the day before. On March 19, it was announced that Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart would join a list of known NBA players to have tested positive for novel coronavirus that also added two Los Angeles Lakers players.
Moreover, the rest of the list of known players to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the NBA includes Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant, Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood, and Utah Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Smart is the latest big name that is added to that list of players that have tested positive for COVID-19, and more could be to come with more and more results coming out every day.
But it was nice to see that the news cycle mostly slowed down on March 20 in terms of the lack of negative messages coming through. A slower news cycle in terms of COVID-19 cases confirmed and reported and more measures to delay sporting events means that we could be making progress.
Nonetheless, here’s a look into what’s happening with the Bulls and around the NBA in the ninth day of the hiatus, on March 20.
What’s going on around the basketball world
Free NBA League Pass for archived games
The NBA announced earlier this week that it would be giving League Pass for free to fans that wanted to go back and watched previously archived games from the 2019-20 season. This is a nice way to pass the time for any NBA fans that want to go back and re-watch the more entertaining of games from the season so far.
Thank you for joining us for tonight's game on #NBATogetherLive! As a reminder, you can enjoy a free preview of NBA League Pass archived and on-demand games from 2019-20 season. Visit https://t.co/0yDsOC7jG4 to get started.
— NBA (@NBA) March 21, 2020
Bulls helping out in their local community
Rising star Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine announced on Twitter on March 20 that he would be helping out families in the Seattle (his hometown) community by giving 12,500 meals. This is nice news to hear in a time when it is much needed.
I want to do my part and help my communities as much as I can during this difficult time. I’m starting off by committing 12,500 meals to the city of Seattle with @FeedingAmerica. As you know, I grew up here in Seattle and will always be #seattlestrong
— Zach LaVine (@ZachLaVine) March 21, 2020
Another Bulls player making his opinion known
In one of the weirder stories that emerged since the NBA season was put on hiatus, combo guard Tomas Satoransky reportedly said that he wants a permanent cancellation so he can go home. He misses his family in the Czech Republic and wants to be with them during this hard time.
This is a totally understandable feeling from Sato, but it will be hard to see the NBA cancelling the rest of the 2019-20 season given what commissioner Adam Silver has said so far.
There still isn’t any known path that the NBA is taking to get the season back on track once the COVID-19 precautions start to wind down. COVID-19 is starting to see a rapid rise in the number of cases around the country.
For more information on COVID-19, you can visit the CDC’s website.