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Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said ahead of Saturday’s game between the Sixers and the Nuggets that he believes the circumstances warranted postponement.
Mike Scott was active, giving the Sixers the eight-man minimum, but Rivers didn’t think he was healthy enough to appear in an NBA game. The 32-year-old had missed the last four games with a contusion to his left knee.
“I think we have eight active players,” Rivers said on Saturday. “One was injured in Mike Scott. I can tell you now, I won’t play it. I just don’t think he should be playing.
On Tuesday, Scott played 46 minutes and scored 16 points in a 137-134 Sixers overtime win over the Heat. He was asked about the sequence of events that led to him being active but not playing in the Denver game.
“That’s what it was,” he says. “What you just said.”
How was his communication with Rivers before the game?
“You have to ask Doc,” he said. “I’m not a snitch.”
Joel Embiid, after taking the Sixers to victory with 45 points and 16 rebounds against Miami, was more expansive on the subject. He was excluded from Saturday’s game due to strain in his back, which Rivers said Embiid started complaining about the night before. Ben Simmons was also sitting with swelling in his left knee although it did not appear on the game’s initial injury report, and the Sixers were later fined $ 25,000 for not listing it.
“It looks like every other game is still (postponed), but we, I guess the league keeps playing us,” Embiid said. “There’s really no other explanation behind it, especially this Denver game where we had to dress an injured player just to make sure we had enough players to be able to compete when the other teams didn’t. not had so many players and the league. didn’t make any of them play an injured player just to make sure there was a game going.
“So that’s unfortunate, but he’s the next man. I can’t complain. Winning always matters, losses always matter. We have to get all these wins. We have to keep fighting until these guys are back, and that’s our job. “
Embid’s response on Tuesday was actually somewhat subdued compared to his recent activity on Twitter.
While there is no evidence of a calculated NBA plot against the Sixers, Embiid’s position is fair enough. Six NBA games have been postponed so far this season, including the Celtics’ final three, with COVID-19 protocols helping to prevent teams from fielding eight players. Perhaps the late reporting of Simmons and Embiid’s injuries had something to do with the league’s apparent desire to avoid a postponement on Saturday.
The Sixers had two healthier players than Miami on Tuesday as eight members of the Heat were sidelined due to health and safety protocols. In addition to Seth Curry, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton and Vincent Poirier were against the Heat. Furkan Korkmaz was sidelined by a left adductor strain.
Terrance Ferguson must now clear league protocols after being absent from the squad for personal reasons. Rivers believes it’s “a possibility” that Harris, Thybulle, Milton and Poirier could return after the Sixers’ miniseries against the Heat, which is scheduled to end on Thursday.
As for Saturday’s game, there are still no satisfactory answers. Whatever Scott knows, there’s no doubt he’s keeping it to himself.
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