All 76ers

Brooklyn Nets Deal With COVID Outbreak Ahead of Sixers Matchup

Similar to the 2020-2021 NBA season, many teams are dealing with COVID-19-related outbreaks early on in the year. Last month, the Philadelphia 76ers were among

Justin Grasso

Brooklyn Nets Deal With COVID Outbreak Ahead of Sixers Matchup
Brooklyn Nets Deal With COVID Outbreak Ahead of Sixers Matchup /

Similar to the 2020-2021 NBA season, many teams are dealing with COVID-19-related outbreaks early on in the year. Last month, the Philadelphia 76ers were among those organizations that had several players enter the NBA's health and safety protocol beginning with Tobias Harris. 

After Harris tested positive, Isaiah Joe, Matisse Thybulle, and Joel Embiid all followed. Fortunately for the Sixers, their outbreak ended with just four players. And since all of those guys returned, the Sixers haven't had any issues since.

But the same can't be said for every team. Lately, there have been a lot of team-wide outbreaks. Just last week, the Sixers faced the Charlotte Hornets, who missed five players due to the NBA's health and safety protocol.

On Monday, the NBA announced that the Chicago Bulls would have their next two games postponed as they have ten players in the protocol. Now, on Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets are seemingly dealing with COVID-19-related setbacks as several players entered the protocol on Tuesday morning.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, five Nets players have entered the health and safety protocol. First, the veteran forward Paul Millsap was placed in the protocol on Monday evening. Then, the Nets confirmed that LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Bembry, Jevon Carter, and James Johnson would join Millsap on Tuesday. 

Soon, the Sixers will face off against the Nets for the second time this season. While there is a possibility that Brooklyn could get some of those guys back ahead of time as players take additional tests to be sure they are positive for COVID-19 or not, there seems to be a high chance the Sixers will face the Nets as they miss some key players.

The Sixers and the Nets are scheduled to face off in Brooklyn on Thursday night. The matchup will be the second game of a back-to-back for the Sixers.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

Published
Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

Home/News