The NBA takes extreme measures and prohibits players from hugging and high-fiving

LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers bench during a game.Mark J. Rebilas / Reuters

The NBA will now ban players from hugging and high-fiving each other.

It also reduces the number of people with whom they can maintain contact and limits the spaces in which they can meet.

These and other regulations are the consequence of the growing concern within the League about the increase in infections and players who have had contact with colleagues or people who have tested positive.

On Tuesday another game was suspended, the fourth in the last three days, the one that was due to face the Celtics and Orlando on January 13.

On Sunday the Celtics-Miami had already been suspended.

And on Monday it was decided that the matches between New Orleans and Dallas, and between Boston and Chicago, were not going to be played either.

The Celtics already have three suspended games.

Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington and Chicago are also among the teams with the lowest casualties due to positive cases or contact tracing.

The first game postponed by the NBA this season was the one they had to face Houston and Oklahoma City on December 23, due to the Rockets having several players in quarantine.

The postponements occur because some of the teams do not have the minimum of eight players to face the games.

This is the case of the Celtics, with several players removed from the competition because they must follow the health protocol established by the NBA.

Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Ojeleye, Javonte Green, Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Tristan Thompson are the players who have had to follow this protocol and therefore have dropped out.

The League, after reaching a consensus on Monday in a meeting with the Players Association (NBPA), has introduced new rules in the protocols and has increased prevention measures.

It is forbidden to invite anyone to the rooms

From now on, invited people are prohibited from being in team hotel rooms.

The league no longer allows players and staff to leave hotels for non-team activities.

Previously, players were allowed to have up to two guests in hotel rooms, including those who were family members and personal friends.

“Nobody wants more restrictions to be imposed, but nobody wants the infection rate to increase either.

If there are steps we can take to mitigate risk, we take them, ”said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts.

"It would be irresponsible and unacceptable not to employ new measures designed to better promote and protect the safety of our players."

When teams are in your city and through at least January 26, both your players and staff must stay home unless they are going to a team-related activity, exercising outside, or engaging in essential activities.

They should also limit interactions outside of work to family, household members, and staff who work in your home.

Anyone who regularly visits the home of a player or staff member is required to undergo two covid-19 tests per week.

Teams that have players who have tested positive or a high-risk staff member may require players and staff to undergo five consecutive days of laboratory testing twice a day, in addition to daily point-of-care testing.

Meetings of maximum 10 minutes in the changing room

Also on at least January 26, pre-game meetings in the locker room cannot last more than 10 minutes.

All other meetings involving players and staff must take place on the court, in a space approved by the League, or in a room large enough so that everyone present is separated by at least one and a half meters.

In such meetings, everyone should wear the mask.

Interactions with players before and after matches should be limited to elbow or fist strikes;

prolonged socialization should be avoided;

and a distance of one and a half meters should be kept as much as possible.

Mandatory mask on the benches

Distances are also established between players on team flights and all treatment sessions in hotels, including massages and physical therapy, must occur in large, open spaces.

These interactions require the use of the mask, which players must also wear on the bench.

When a player who has been in action is substituted, he will have a cooldown period in a set area where he will not need a mask.

However, once the players have cooled down, they must return to their seat and wear the mask until they play again.