Jazz Whiteside Enters NBA COVID Protocol
Jan 12, 2022, 3:21 PM | Updated: 3:22 pm
Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Utah Jazz reacts toward the Bucks bench during the game at Fiserv Forum on October 31, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jazz defeated the Bucks 107-95. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz announced that reserve center Hassan Whiteside has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocol.
Whiteside joins a long list of Jazz players who are on the league’s COVID list after guard Joe Ingles first tested positive for the virus last week.
Since Ingles positive test, Rudy Gobert, Elijah Hughes, Rudy Gay, Udoka Azubuike, and Jared Butler were all sidelined by the virus before Whiteside was ruled out ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The @utahjazz announced Hassan Whiteside is now in the health and safety protocol.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 12, 2022
Whiteside had been starting in Gobert’s absence over the last week, but now without the reserve big man, the Jazz will be both shorthanded and undersized when they face the Cavaliers.
Gay has served as the team’s third-string center and has yet to clear protocols, while second-year center Azubuike is also out against Cleveland.
Recently signed Norvel Pelle is listed as questionable with a non-COVID illness, though over the last week the Jazz listed both Gobert and Hughes as out with a non-COVID illness just one day before the two received positive tests.
The Cavaliers meanwhile are one of the tallest teams in the NBA with three seven-footers in their starting lineup.
*OUT – Hassan Whiteside (Health & Safety Protocols) https://t.co/U1bcousYmV
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 12, 2022
Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are all expected to be available for the Cavaliers when they face the Jazz at Vivint Arena.
The Jazz will likely have to rely on a small lineup of Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and Eric Paschall to fill the team’s center minutes against the larger Cleveland roster.
Whiteside is averaging 8.2 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Jazz this season.
