NBA News: Wizards' Montrezl Harrell Enters Protocol After Sixers Matchup

Lately, the NBA has seen a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. Therefore, the Philadelphia 76ers have not only dealt with their fair share of outbreaks on their

Lately, the NBA has seen a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. Therefore, the Philadelphia 76ers have not only dealt with their fair share of outbreaks on their roster, but they've also faced many shorthanded teams lately as other organizations continue to deal with numerous setbacks as well.

The Sixers might be especially cautious over the next couple of days, considering the rise in cases on teams they played recently. Last Thursday, the Sixers hosted the Atlanta Hawks. A couple of days later, Hawks standout John Collins entered the health and safety protocol.

Outside of Tyrese Maxey, who temporarily entered the protocol, the Sixers didn't see a rise in COVID-related setbacks on their team since early on last week. However, another recent opponent of theirs lost a player to the protocol once again.

Montrezl Harrell Becomes the Latest Case

Wizards big man Montrezl Harrell entered the NBA's health and safety protocol on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. He now becomes the seventh member of the Wizards to deal with a COVID-related setback.

Washington Wizards center Montrezl Harrell has entered the league's Covid protocols, sources tell ESPN. He's the seventh player on roster to do so. Wizards play the Heat tonight.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 28, 2021

So far, the Sixers haven't seen any other cases pop up on their roster. While Maxey was in the protocol ahead of Sunday's game, he was cleared on Sunday morning as he made the trip to Washington D.C. and participated in the Sixers' morning shootaround session.

In addition to Maxey getting cleared, Sixers veteran forward Georges Niang was also cleared out of the protocol and got the green light to play against the Wizards after missing the last four games with COVID.

While the Sixers haven't seen any new cases come up lately, they still have a few players in the health and safety protocol in Andre Drummond, Shake Milton, and Danny Green. Those three are expected to remain off the court on Tuesday night.

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