Mavs news: Kristaps Porzingis misses scrimmage game after forgetting to take Covid-19 test

In a comedy of errors, Kristaps Porzingis has been forced to sit out of Sunday’s scrimmage against the Pacers. This is because the 24-yr-old Latvian power-forward had not taken his Covid-19 test yesterday. 

This is the second time such an incident has taken place this weekend. On Saturday, Nuggets forward Paul Millsap had to sit out during their scrimmage against the Pelicans. He too had forgotten to take his Covid-19 test on Friday.

The Kristaps Porzingis Covid-19 fiasco

The only good sign for the Dallas Mavericks is that such an incident has happened during their scrimmage, and not during the season games. It is a small thing that could make a big difference for any team. Brad Townsend, the sports reporter for the Dallas Morning took to Twitter to inform the world of Porzingis’ blunder. He further added that it was a sign that NBA officials are also taking protocols seriously.

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Porzingis and the Mavericks will be hoping that all the players take an example from this little fiasco and take all protocols in the Bubble seriosuly.

Rick Carlisle says Porzingis is unavailable for today’s game. He broke a protocol and forgot to get tested yesterday. For safety reasons, he cannot join the Mavs today. Carlisle said he believes he can join Mavs tomorrow. “I did speak to him and he was contrite,” Carlisle said.

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) July 26, 2020

Strict COVID testing protocols in Orlando

As long as the players are staying in the bubble, they have to undergo COVID testing every single day. If any player misses a test, they cannot participate in the day’s activities until test results come back negative.

All of these strict protocols which have been put in place shows fans across the world that the NBA is taking the testing protocols extremely seriously. All of these precautions will only ensure that no player who has contracted the infection will play.

The Bubble protocols need to be taken seriously and players and teams have to ensure no one is ignorant about it. Hopefully, this ‘Porzingis issue’ is a wake up call for all others players in the Bubble.