Sixers' Tobias Harris, Shake Milton Among Players Who Will Miss Time
Playing basketball in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn't an ideal situation for the NBA. But after tons of planning and negotiating with the NBPA, the league is finding a way to make it work. Just because everything is moving, though, doesn't mean there aren't any roadblocks on the path to wrapping up the 2020-2021 season.
Since the start of the year, several teams have been affected by COVID-19 cases or tracing to the virus. The Philadelphia 76ers happen to be one of the latest. On Thursday night, as the Sixers faced the Brooklyn Nets, Sixers starting guard Seth Curry found out he was positive for the virus.
That left the Sixers with seven other players who were listed as questionable for Saturday's game against the Denver Nuggets as they made contact with Curry recently. The good news for the 76ers is that a few members of the team cleared protocol and are available to play in Saturday's game.
Unfortunately, the good news doesn't go across the board. Joel Embiid, Danny Green, and Paul Reed are all cleared to play on Saturday. Meanwhile, veteran forward Tobias Harris, veteran guard Shake Milton, second-year guard Matisse Thybulle, and veteran center Vincent Poirier all failed to clear the NBA's COVID-19 protocol on Saturday.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, all four players are ruled out for Saturday's game against the Nuggets. And based on the NBA's protocol this season, they are likely to miss additional time, as Charania notes each player will "receive a quarantine period."
On Saturday, the 76ers will face the Nuggets without Mike Scott, Furkan Korkmaz, Terrance Ferguson, Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, and Vincent Poirier.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
