The NBA is teetering on the second postponement of the game related to the coronavirus of the season, while the Philadelphia 76ers awaits the league’s decision on submitting a contact tracking report for several players who shared proximity with guard Seth Curry, sources told ESPN .
The Sixers’ list of seven players placed on the health and safety protocol based on recent contact with Curry – who tested positive for the coronavirus – could leave them short of the eight players required by the league needed to start Saturday’s 15:00 ET game. against the Denver Nuggets in Philadelphia.
For now, the Sixers are reduced to six available players: All-Star striker Ben Simmons, centerpieces Dwight Howard and Tony Bradley, novice guards Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe and point guard Dakota Mathias.
The Sixers await the league’s assessment of the circumstances surrounding the individual cases of these seven players to find out if it is possible that at least two of them could be released on Saturday to avoid a postponement. NBA contact tracking guidelines can determine different releases for different players, including zero to seven day isolation periods.
After learning that Curry had returned a positive test for COVID-19 early in the Sixers’ defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night in New York, Curry was pushed off the ground and in isolation, sources said.
The 76ers were forced to wait for Friday’s test results at the team’s Manhattan hotel before finally boarding a series of separate buses around 11 pm ET on Friday for the return journey. to Philadelphia, the sources said.
The Nuggets flew to Philadelphia on Friday without young and talented striker Michael Porter Jr., who remains out of health and safety protocols indefinitely, the sources said.
The Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder had an opening night game postponed when the Rockets had only seven eligible players.