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NBA News: Nets' James Harden Enters Protocol Before Sixers Matchup

The Brooklyn Nets became the latest team to deal with an unfortunate team-wide COVID-19 outbreak. Just one day after the NBA decided to postpone the Chicago Bulls' next two games as they have ten players in the health and safety protocol, the Nets lost a couple of players for the same reason.

On Monday night, Brooklyn lost its first player this week to the protocol as their veteran forward Paul Millsap was entered. The following day, four players joined him. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Bembry, Jevon Carter, and James Johnson were all added to health and safety protocol.

Unfortunately for Brooklyn, it didn't stop there. 

On Tuesday night, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that two more members of the Brooklyn Nets were added to the health and safety protocol. With the addition of Nets star James Harden and their rotation regular Bruce Brown, Brooklyn now has seven players in the NBA's health and safety protocol as of Wednesday.

The Philadelphia 76ers are scheduled to pay a visit to the Nets in Brooklyn on Thursday night. Philly, who will be coming off of a matchup against the Miami Heat at home on Wednesday night, is no stranger to what the Nets are currently going through.

Last month, the Sixers became one of the first teams to experience a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak. As Tobias Harris tested positive after showing symptoms, he entered the protocol for ten days. 

Not too long after Harris tested positive, Sixers' second-year guard, Isaiah Joe, became the second to do so. Matisse Thybulle and Joel Embiid then became the third and fourth to deal with multi-game setbacks due to the virus as well.

Fortunately, the Sixers haven't experienced any COVID-related setbacks since November. They'll have to be extremely careful to avoid another outbreak, though, as their upcoming opponents are going through similar issues.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_. 

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