Philadelphia 76ers: What We Know About Sunday's Postponement vs. Thunder

What happened with Sunday's game between the 76ers and the Thunder?

After taking a two-point loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers had to make a quick turnaround as they had another matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder less than 24 hours later.

Late on Saturday night, the Sixers traveled to OKC and got the morning off on Sunday. A couple of hours before tip-off, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault participated in a routine pregame press conference.

In less than 15 minutes after Daigenault's presser, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was set to address the media to discuss the upcoming game. Before Rivers ever approached the virtual podium, though, the NBA made a shocking announcement.

"The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena has been postponed in accordance with the league's Health and Safety Protocols. Because of ongoing contact tracing within the Sixers, the team does not have the league-required eight players available to proceed with the scheduled game against the Thunder."

Moments after the NBA released the above statement; the Sixers canceled Doc Rivers' pregame press conference as the team was focused on the next steps of the league's COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocol.

Although the 76ers dealt with a similar scenario just last week, Sunday's events were still shocking. Heading into the two-game stretch this past weekend, the 76ers knew they were already shorthanded as Vincent Poirier and Seth Curry remain in the NBA's COVID Health and Safety Protocol after Curry tested positive last week.

In addition to those two, the Sixers also allowed veteran forward Mike Scott and starting center Joel Embiid to stay home as they're both dealing with lower-body injuries. With those four out of the picture, the Sixers were left with 13 available players, which is more than enough to play with, considering the league requires an eight-man minimum for a game to go on as scheduled.

But a scare from the Sixers' previous opponents, the Memphis Grizzlies, caused them to call Sunday's matchup off. Shortly after the league postponed the Philly versus Oklahoma City matchup, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Grizzlies big man Jonas Valanciunas was entered into the NBA's Health and Safety Protocol on Sunday night and is automatically ruled out for Memphis' Monday night matchup. 

The good news is that after conducting routine COVID-19 tests on Sunday, the Sixers haven't had any new positive tests come about, according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice. To play the situation safely, the Sixers spent the night in Oklahoma City on Sunday. A game between the Sixers and the Thunder won't be played this week as the 76ers will eventually make their way back to Philly sometime soon.

The Sixers don't have any games scheduled for Monday or Tuesday this week, which gives them plenty of time to confirm whether they're entirely clear from COVID or not. On Wednesday, the Sixers are scheduled to take the court once again for a matchup against the Boston Celtics. If the Sixers have at least eight players available, the game will likely go on as scheduled. So far, it seems the Sixers could be on the right path to playing if they steer clear of COVID -- but it's far too early to tell for sure.

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