The Philadelphia 76ers’ sources against the Denver Nuggets are scheduled to play on Saturday, sources told ESPN after several Sixers players were part of contact detection.
The 76ers are expected to be eligible for nine games for Saturday’s game, including three removed from the protocol: Joel Embiid, Danny Green and Paul Reed, sources told ESPN.
The clearing of the health and safety protocol does not guarantee that Embiid will play on Saturday, but only that he counts as a suitable player among the eight needed for Philadelphia to avoid postponement.
Several Sixers – including Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton and Vincent Poirier – remain in health and safety protocols and will continue in quarantine indefinitely, sources said.
The game on Saturday afternoon had the chance to be the NBA season’s second postponement with the coronavirus game, due to the shared proximity of some 76ers players to protect Seth Curry, who tested positive for COVID-19, sources ESPN said.
The Sixers also had one staff member test positive on Friday, a source told Ramona Shelburne, ESPN.
Denver has its own COVID-19 editions. The Nuggets flew to Philadelphia on Friday without the talented young forward Michael Porter Jr., who is still being sidelined under health and safety protocols indefinitely.