Hornets place LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, two others in COVID-19 protocol

The Charlotte Hornets have placed LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Jalen McDaniels and Mason Plumlee in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

They are expected to miss at least 10 days unless any player records two negative tests in a 24-hour period moving forward.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who recently left protocols early after receiving a false positive test, voiced his displeasure after he was forced to miss a game.

“I knew I was going to get cleared because I never, ever felt sick at all,” said James Friday. “I just thought it was just handled very poorly.”

Ball, 20, is the centrepiece of this Hornets team. He’s currently leading them in points (20.0), assists (8.3) and rebounds (7.7) this season.

Rozier is third in team scoring with 17.7 points per game, while Plumlee is third in rebounds with 7.3 per game.

McDaniels is averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds playing 15 minutes per game off the bench.

Charlotte plays the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

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