Getty Sixers center Joel Embiid addresses the Philly crowd before the home opener on October 22 at Wells Fargo Center.
No team in the NBA has struggled more with COVID-19 than the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s a fact. Georges Niang was the latest player to head into the league’s health and safety protocol. He joined a season-long list including Joel Embiid, Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Joe.
The Sixers have only played 30 games so far this season, yet the team has watched those players spent 98 total days (via FanSure data) in quarantine. It’s no surprise they have fallen to eighth place in the Eastern Conference following a red-hot 8-2 start. There has been no time to gel, especially with Embiid missing 11 games. Head coach Doc Rivers mentioned it the other night following a 114-105 loss to Brooklyn.
“Listen, we got to get right. We got to get everybody back,” Rivers told reporters, via Tim Bontemps. “We played a game tonight without a point guard, and with one power forward. We’re just so small. We are in general. We’re a small basketball team.”
Doc Rivers says the 76ers have had internal discussions about restricting their own actions to try to do what they can to slow the spread of COVID-19. Said the Sixers, like every other team, are just trying to navigate this situation.
The Sixers were missing Niang in that one – their backup stretch four – plus starting point guard Tyrese Maxey who was out due to a left thigh contusion. And guard Furkan Korkmaz was out with an undisclosed non-COVID illness. It’s been a rough year for Philly, without even getting into the Ben Simmons’ drama.
“My job right now as a coach is to keep them positive,” Rivers said. “Let’s keep holding water, let’s win a couple games.”
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NBA Has ‘All Over the Place’ COVID-19 Rules
Unlike Rivers, Embiid couldn’t hold back his anger over the COVID-19 issues. The All-Star center fought a hard battle with the illness, one he honestly thought he wasn’t going to win. Embiid survived to tell the tale, but there are lingering effects. Add that to physical injuries to his knee, ankle, rib – well, it’s been festering for some time. He let it out after losing to Brooklyn.
Joel Embiid had trouble breathing and bad headaches while out 3 weeks with COVID-19
“hit me hard… I wasn’t going to make it”
Embiid also didn’t think he would play tonight for the Sixers and #JoelEmbiid scores a season HIGH 42 points in 45 minutes of their Double OT loss
“We all got to protect each other,” Embiid told reporters, via Yaron Weitzman. “Whether it’s wearing masks, making sure whatever you do outside of basketball that you think about your teammate or their family or your own family.
“It does suck. From the beginning, even when it hit us, I was mad. I thought last year there was great precautions in place, and this year it was just all over the place, and I thought it was just unprofessional and that’s where we are now.”
Sixers Recall First-Round Pick
Philadelphia made a couple minor roster moves on Friday. First, the team called up first-round pick Jaden Springer from the G League. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard out of Tennessee averaged 15.0 points, 2.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds in nine games for the Delaware Blue Coats. He shot 44.4% from the field, including 28% from deep. Springer played two minutes in the season opener for the Sixers.
Embiid-less, Curry-less Sixers get drilled by an impressive Memphis team, 126-91. They are 15-13 on the year.
Tyrese Maxey (23 points) and Charles Bassey (13 and 10) the only bright spots on what was maybe the most unwatchable game of a season that has already had a few of em.
The Sixers also sent second-year forward Paul Reed and rookie center Charles Bassey down to the G League. Reed has bounced back and forth between Philly and Delaware all year, while Bassey will make his first G League appearance. The second-rounder is coming off a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) against Memphis the other night. Two-way guard Aaron Henry was also re-assigned to the G League.
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Sixers Star Slams NBA’s ‘Unprofessional’ COVID-19 Protocols