Sixers return from postponed game with no new COVID-19 cases
Their game Sunday in Oklahoma City was called off because of contact tracing. The Sixers will host the Celtics on Wednesday.
The 76ers returned to Philadelphia on Monday with no new positive COVID-19 tests to report after Sunday’s scare in Oklahoma City, according to a team source. Their game against the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena was postponed because of contact tracing related to the coronavirus.
The Sixers did not have the required eight available players after undergoing the contact tracing, but they spent the night in Oklahoma City awaiting their test results, which all came back negative.
The problem stemmed from the Sixers’ Saturday night game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas, who played Saturday, is now sidelined after entering the league’s health and safety protocols with a positive test.
Memphis faced the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday before their Friday game was postponed because Minnesota was conducting contact tracing. Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said Friday that he tested positive for COVID-19.
Valanciunas went head-to-head with Towns during that game. On Saturday, Valanciunas squared off against Dwight Howard because Joel Embiid missed the road trip with right knee pain.
The Sixers’ next game will be Wednesday night at home against the Boston Celtics (8-4). The Sixers will update their statuses for players on Tuesday.
This marked the second time the Sixers (9-5) dealt with contact tracing.
On Jan. 7, Seth Curry was informed early during a 122-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets that he had tested positive for COVID-19. That forced the team to quarantine and contact trace in a New York hotel the night after the game and into the next day.
As a result, Curry, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and Vincent Poirier were all sidelined as part of the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Curry and Poirier are still in the protocols, while Harris, Milton, and Thybulle returned to action Thursday night against the Miami Heat.
According to the NBA, a player must isolate at least 10 days after the first positive test or onset of symptoms or test negative twice at least 24 hours apart via PCR testing. Players who are deemed out due to contact tracing are normally expected to be sidelined for up to seven days.
Sixers waive Mathias
The team parted ways with rookie two-way guard Dakota Mathias on Monday. The shooting guard averaged 6.0 points, 1.6 assists, and 15.4 minutes in eight games with two starts. He shot 30.8% from three-point range.
Mathias’ two starts came in consecutive games against the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks as the Sixers were shorthanded because of the league’s health and safety protocols. He finished with 12 points in more than 41 minutes against the Nuggets on Jan. 9. Two nights later, the 25-year-old scored a career-high 14 points.