As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare to take on the Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon with seven healthy players, coach Doc Rivers said he believes the NBA should have postponed play.
“I do not think it should [play]”But it’s not for me to express that,” Rivers said when asked if he thinks the game should be played before Philadelphia loses 115-103 to Denver. I’m worried about our player’s health on the floor. “
Philadelphia found itself exhausted from both the injury and the NBA’s health and safety protocols. So much so that striker Mike Scott – who had a knee problem – had to be listed as active, even though Rivers said before the game he would not play him.
As a result, three rookies – including Tyrese Maxey, who received 39 points in his first career start – played more than 40 minutes for Philadelphia, and Denver – led by 21 points from Gary Harris and 15 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists from center Nikola Jokic – slowly, as the game continued.
“I think even though I think they need verification sometimes, they’re NBA players, some of these guys,” Rivers said, praising his team’s effort under the team after the game. “You could see how it went. Isaiah Joe, I think he’s going to be a great player and you could see him sitting down, taking his feet, Paul Reed, the same thing. So for those guys, he was just great. “
ESPN reported earlier Saturday that the game will continue, after the NBA said three of the eight players who had been in the minutes following Seth Curry’s positive test on Thursday – Joel Embiid, Danny Green and Reed – were eliminated. to quarantine.
Initially, this left Philadelphia with nine players – Embiid, Green and Reed, along with the six players (Ben Simmons, Dwight Howard, Tony Bradley and newcomers Maxey, Joe and Dakota Mathias) who were not included at 8:30 pm on Friday. injury report. But then Sixers listed Embiid with stiffness in the back and Simmons in stiffness in the knees, forcing them to actively make Scott – who had been out with his own knee problems – for a game that, according to him. Rivers, wouldn’t be playing in.
As for Embiid and Simmons, neither of whom has previously been injured, Rivers explained why both conditions prevented them from taking action against Denver.
“Yeah, but it has nothing to do with them just not playing,” Rivers said. “Ben, in the Brooklyn game, had a certain stiffness in his knees, so I almost probably knew after the game that he wasn’t going to play tonight. And then Joel started complaining from behind in the last one, at the beginning of the day. “I didn’t know if he was playing or not. But honestly, with the minutes we should ask, it would be crazy to play him tonight.”
During his 15-minute availability before the game, Rivers repeatedly stressed his concerns about the number of minutes his healthy players would have to play to get through the game. In the end, four players exceeded 35 minutes on the floor, including Maxey, who took full advantage of his opportunity.
“I was really trying my best to win,” Maxey said. “I knew I would have to do more than I usually do.”
It probably won’t be the last time Maxey has more responsibility. Although it’s unclear how long the quarantine period will be for players in the league’s health and safety protocols, the Sixers have a game Monday against the Atlanta Hawks before playing at home with the Miami Heat on Tuesday and Thursday, with it unlikely that any of the players still in the protocols – Curry, Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle and Vincent Poirier – can play.
“I trust the league and I trust the doctors in terms of health,” Rivers said when asked if he personally felt safe about COVID-19 on how things were going. “I’m more concerned about the health on the floor. We’ll play players who haven’t played for many minutes.” And this is not just for today, but it is a long-term health with the accumulation of games. The numbers we want to stay away from our players. So, in fact, I’m more concerned about that than actually COVID. And I’m worried about COVID. I think everyone is. The league is and everyone else is the same. So yes, a lot of things happen. “
Rivers said he does not know if there is a specific time frame for when the players in the protocols will be able to return. “We don’t know anything,” he said. “I don’t know enough about all this. Especially today, I want to make the statement Doc is a nickname, because I clearly don’t know the medical side of this.”
Saturday afternoon’s game had the chance to be the second postponement of the game related to the coronavirus in the NBA season. The Houston Rockets had the season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder postponed due to its own combination of positive tests and tracking of contacts.
Sixers also had a positive test staff member on Friday, a source for ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said. Nuggets also handle COVID-19 issues. The Nuggets flew to Philadelphia on Friday without young talented striker Michael Porter Jr., who continues to be ruled out under health and safety protocols indefinitely, sources said. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks have left three players – Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson – in Denver, after winning overtime there on Thursday because they are also part of the health and safety protocols.
After a very successful comeback to play in the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, last summer and early fall to end the 2019-20 regular season and the playoffs without the virus derailment game, starting Friday night at at least 12 of the league’s 30 teams (40%) had at least one player caught up in NBA health and safety protocols. While Curry was unavailable to play Thursday due to an ankle pain before the 76ers learned of his positive test at the end of the first quarter, Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas played the first half Friday night before being removed from the rest. of the game for protocol reasons, although coach Taylor Jenkins said after the game that it did not give positive results for COVID-19.
And while Rivers joked to the press to send a message to his Denver counterpart Mike Malone that “If he can sit around seven or eight boys, it would be great for him,” Malone – whose Nuggets are Starting with season 4-5, despite Saturday’s victory – discussed the difficult position in which each team places as it tries to navigate the unexplored waters that are the NBA 2020-21 season.
“I think you have to understand and be sensitive to the feelings that each player on both sides can have,” Malone said. “You have to remember, we just played a game against Dallas that left three players in Denver. We just played them. We have one of our players, the third scorer, who came home in Denver – Michael Porter, and the Sixers did not leave New York City late last night, with all the follow-ups and contact tests to see who will be available today.
“I talked to [NBA president of league operations] Byron Spruell many today, back and forth to see if the game will happen. Obviously, the show has to go on. They thought it was safe enough to play. Sixers has eight players, which you need to play a game. And to be honest, I think we’re going to start seeing more of that.
“Jonas Valanciunas last night, Seth Curry a few nights ago, the players from the Dallas team, Michael Porter in our team, because we are just a microcosm of what is happening in our country. So, unfortunately, the situation we are in a part, say, “Well, who are we preparing for? Shall we play? Who will be available?” Then, in reverse, it’s, “Hey, we need to go win a game. I don’t care who’s available for Philadelphia. We need to find a way to win a game and start feeling better about ourselves. per se”.