Report: 76ers Likely to Have Multiple Players Miss Time After COVID-19 Exposure
The Philadelphia 76ers reportedly are expected to be without "multiple players" in the coming days because of COVID-19 contact tracing.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the players have been in close contact with someone who tested positive and will not be permitted to play for a period of time.
Wojnarowski noted that the Sixers are awaiting the results of COVID-19 tests they administered Friday.
The 76ers, who lost 122-109 to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, are next scheduled to play Saturday against the Denver Nuggets at home.
The Sixers had their full allotment of players Thursday aside from Seth Curry, including Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but they still fell to the Nets and their record dropped to 7-2.
Thursday's loss came despite the fact that the Nets were missing guard Kyrie Irving for personal reasons and forward Kevin Durant because he potentially was exposed to COVID-19.
Even with the defeat, Philly still owns the NBA's best record at 7-2 and holds a 1.5-game lead over both the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference.
Balance has been a big part of the Sixers' success this season, as Embiid, Simmons, Curry, Tobias Harris and Shake Milton are all averaging 13 or more points per game.
Head coach Doc Rivers is also getting important contributions off the bench from Danny Green, Dwight Howard, Tyrese Maxey and others during the early part of the campaign.
With such a reliance on depth, losing multiple players who are part of the rotation could be a major issue for Rivers and the Sixers.
It isn't yet known which players may have to sit or precisely how many, but any disruption to what has been a winning formula has the potential to throw the 76ers off track.
The players likely to miss time because of COVID-19 exposure figure to be out Saturday against Denver, although it is unclear if their availability for Monday against the Atlanta Hawks and Tuesday against the Miami Heat may be impacted as well.
