Sixers Could Face Hornets Without LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier Next Week

The Philadelphia 76ers wrapped up their week with a victory on the road against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. Now, they'll get the weekend off before heading into a two-game series in Charlotte against the Hornets.

Just as the Sixers' consecutive battles against the Hornets are approaching, Charlotte is dealing with a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, two key members of the Hornets entered the NBA's health and safety protocol on Saturday morning.

Starting guards LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier both tested positive for COVID-19. With their results, they are expected to miss at least days worth of practices and games, barring a change in results for two tests over the next 24 hours, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

If Rozier and Ball cannot return two negative tests, then they are guaranteed to miss both games against the Sixers on Monday and Wednesday of next week. Unfortunately, the hits for the Hornets don't stop right there. Shortly after Ball and Rozier entered the protocol, the team added two more members in Mason Plumlee and Jaden McDaniels.

Last month, the Sixers found themselves in a similar predicament. Heading into a Monday night game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Sixers starting forward Tobias Harris tested positive for COVID-19 after showing symptoms. He went on to miss ten straight days of action.

After Harris tested positive first, Sixers' second-year guard, Isaiah Joe, became the second member of the team to test positive, with Matisse Thybulle and Joel Embiid following. The good news is that the NBA has cleared all four members to return at this point. The bad news is it seems the NBA is seeing a rise in cases recently, with the Hornets getting hit hard on Saturday.

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

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