Sixers Continue to Play, Battle Through COVID-19
If it was going to happen, it’s a good thing it happened now.
The Sixers this week had the first COVID-19 outbreak of this year’s NBA season after Seth Curry tested positive on Thursday during their game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Luckily for the Nets, Curry was inactive with an ankle injury but was seen sitting next to assistant coach Sam Cassel and Joel Embiid on the bench during the game. According to contact tracing, Curry was also in close contact with a few other major players including Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Shake Milton.
It’s not known whether or not anyone else on the team contracted the virus from Curry, but out of an abundance of caution, the Sixers were without most of their team vs the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
There aren’t a lot of positives to take away from this entire situation.
However, if a Coronavirus issue was going to happen to the Sixers this season isn’t this the best possible time?
There is no disputing the Sixers were on fire to start the season, but that’s exactly it. It’s the start of the season. What if this was to happen in the first round of the playoffs or better yet if the Sixers made it into the finals? They have the rest of the season to build chemistry and recapture the fire that they caught in the first week of the season.
The Sixers had 7 players active against the Nuggets in a loss that was highlighted by rookie Tyrese Maxey’s 39 points.
Photo: Philadelphia Inquirer/Yong Kim
This leads to another highlight of the strange situation the Sixers found themselves in this weekend. Maxey in no world would find himself playing 44 minutes in a normal game, but this past game was no normal game and maybe that’s a good thing.
Maxey dazzled with 39 points, some tough buckets, and some stellar defense. Maxey in one game has forced Doc Rivers’ hand into more playing time. Anytime a rookie puts up the kind of game that Maxey did, it makes things a little bit interesting. When a Sixers rookie does it, he may be the second coming of Superman. We knew the Sixers rookie had a chance to be something special out of college, but this game has put him on the map.
The Sixers have shown in the first couple of weeks into the season that they have a chance to be legitimate contenders.
t’s always sunny in Philadelphia even when it’s not and after a rough week, hope should still be high for the 76ers.
Featured Image: Philadelphia Inquirer/Yong Kim
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