A decimated Raptors team sent a patchwork squad to Chicago before the game was postponed. This is what the fans say

Do you remember the NBA bubble? The surreal $ 200 million isolation zone erected at Walt Disney World in Florida in the summer of 2020?

Thinking of the artificial noises from the crowd, the awkward digitally rendered Zoom fans, the stories of bad food and bad behavior, the “snitch hotline”, etc., it all felt like a strange nightmare.

But it worked! Over the course of three months, the NBA reported zero positive cases of COVID-19.

Fast forward to December 2022, and the league is striving for a massive outbreak of cases that has decimated teams across the continent.

And yes, that includes the Raptors, who on Monday and Tuesday scrambled to sign several replacement players on 10-day contracts before a now-postponed showdown with the Bulls in Chicago tonight.

Eight Raptors are on the COVID-19 protocol, including Fred VanVleet, Malachi Flynn, Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa, Pascal Siakam, Dalano Banton, and Gary Trent Jr. ESPN reported that OG Anunoby joined them this morning.

With just a handful of healthy players on the roster, Toronto signed Nik Stauskas, Brandon Goodwin and Juwan Morgan and Tremont Waters to 10-day hardship contracts to try and hit the eight-length minimum needed to compete.

The Raptors were faced with the prospect of climbing a steep and mighty hill against a red-hot Bulls team, but the game was ultimately postponed late this morning.

Meanwhile, fans have been taking the crazy situation lightly on social media: