The Philadelphia 76ers game against the Denver Nuggets will be played on Saturday, according to ESPN sources, after several Sixers players were part of the follow-up.
The 76ers are expected to have nine eligible players for Saturday’s game, including three eliminated from the protocol: Joel Embiid, Danny Green and Paul Reed, sources told ESPN.
The clearance in the health and safety protocol does not guarantee that Embiid will play on Saturday, only that he counts as an eligible player for 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.
Saturday afternoon’s game had the chance to be the second postponement of the game related to the coronavirus in the NBA season, due to the common approach of 76-year-old players to protect Seth Curry, who gave positive results for COVID-19, sources told ESPN.
Sixers also had a positive test staff member on Friday, a source for ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said.
Denver has its own COVID-19 numbers. 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.