Celtics' Al Horford (covid protocols) Has Been Cleared To Play In Game 2

Celtics center Al Horford has been cleared (covid protocols) by the NBA to participate in game 2 -- a major development for Boston as they look to tie the series at one. Not a star by any means, but a presence any young roster can't live without. It's just too bad the NBA is still pretending Covid is a thing.

During game 1, Jimmy Butler was able to score at will in the paint to get a rhythm Boston couldn't stop for the second half. Not going to win many road games when one of the team's most well-respected rim protectors sits out. Here's the apparent "protocols" Horford had to pass in order to play tonight, thanks to clarification from Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes:

Why is the NBA still testing players for covid when they know the players, vaccinated or not, are completely safe from this virus? Hasn't enough digging been done for everyone to grasp in-shape adults shouldn't be worried about contracting this virus, and that this pandemic was nature's forest fire for the previously unhealthy? Common sense and those actually following the science want all athletes participating regardless of their PCR results because the pandemic is over.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, Boston already dropped game 1 without Horford, who very well may have made a difference as the Celtics unraveled in the second half. The NBA is one giant PR stunt, and it's becoming difficult to take them seriously.