Absent from the All-Star Game due to COVID protocol, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons still hoped to be present for the resumption with their Sixers team. Unfortunately, Philadelphia will have to start their second half of the season without them. Ouch.
That’s what Doc Rivers feared. After the hairdresser episode, the Sixers coach wanted to avoid a recovery without his two All-Stars, but it was missed. Because as indicated by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are still in the sanitary protocol for contact tracing and we will have to wait a few more days before seeing them again. According to Shams, Jojo must remain in quarantine until Friday, while Ben will have to isolate himself until Saturday. As a result of the races, Embiid and Simmons will both miss Thursday night’s game in Chicago, the first meeting of the second half of the season for Philly. Not great to pick up the pace, especially since the Sixers – first in the Eastern Conference – only have a short lead over the Nets in the standings, Steve Nash’s men sticking to the basques with only one small loss. (record of 24-12 against 24-13). Joel Embiid should nevertheless be able to make his return on Friday during the back-to-back side of Washington, all without Simmons who will not be able to replay before the meeting against San Antonio on Sunday. Obviously, the return of the duo on these dates will only be done if the two stars continue to provide negative tests.
As long as each continues to test negative, Joel Embiid will be available to play on Friday at Washington and Ben Simmons will be clear to return on Saturday. Both Embiid and Simmons received seven-day quarantines due to exposure to individual who tested positive for COVID-19. https://t.co/mhZmLSsZxt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 9, 2021
Without Embiid and Simmons, others will inevitably have to step-up to help the Sixers get off to a good start. Clearly, we do not replace a Joel in MVP mode but Dwight Howard can get the job done for an evening, with Tony Bradley in back-up and Vincent Poirier in extra back-up. However, we can not rule out other possibilities, such as the establishment of a small ball five with Mike Scott holder or the integration of Bradley in the five to keep Howard in his usual role of substitute pivot, two formulas previously used by Doc Rivers in Jojo’s absence. To fill Simmons’ over the next two meetings, Rivers should logically rely on Shake Milton. But then again, there are chances that Shake will keep his role of blaster off the bench. About a month ago in Portland, the Doc had for example chosen to establish Furkan Korkmaz in place of Ben, with Milton who remains in the second unit. We will also keep an eye on Tyrese Maxey because it will be a great opportunity for the rookie. guard trained at the University of Kentucky to show off, he who has seen his minutes shrink in recent weeks (19 minutes on average before February, 11 minutes out of the 11 games played since, and even four Did Not Play).
No Joel Embiid and no Ben Simmons for the resumption, will have to manage differently at the Sixers. Fortunately, we should quickly see the All-Star duo on the floors, but this little episode reminds us that COVID continues to hover over the NBA season and that no one is safe.
Source texte : The Athletic
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