The Boston Celtics were among the NBA’s hardest-hit teams by COVID-19 in their 2020-21 season in the league, and if it feels like they are again in 2021-22, you would not be wrong according to a new report released by ESPN senior writer Kevin Pelton.
Pelton recently published an article detailing the impact of players going into the league’s health and safety protocols this season, and for the second campaign in a row, Boston finds itself in the NBA’s top five teams which have been impacted by COVID-19. They happen to check in at fifth overall, in fact, just behind the Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Atlanta Hawks, in that order.
Pelton also tracked the Wins above replacement player lost (WARP lost), which is calculated via each players’ per-game rating multiplied by games missed, according to Pelton, in which the Celtics rank 10th in the league.
The star Boston forward put together one of the best second halves of his career on Sunday and credits coach Ime Udoka for his growth. https://t.co/15Wa5RS8qj
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) January 4, 2022
This, in effect, means that while Boston has been hit pretty hard recently, it has also fared considerably better than many teams in terms of the importance of the players it has lost.
A small consolation that, but for a team already so familiar with the impact of this pandemic on their play, any silver lining is better than none.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
