In a recent podcast, former sideline reporter Serena Winters and Keith Pompey discuss the Ben Simmons situation.
Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, NBA has implemented a strict health and safety protocol for the 2021-22 season. Almost all the players with a few exceptions have chosen to abide by the guidelines. One of those exceptions is the star guard Ben Simmons.
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Ben Simmons, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in the 2020-21 season. He was selected for the All-Star game and also got All-Defensive team honors. However, he has not played a single game in the 2021-22 season. He demanded a trade at the beginning of the season.
In addition, Simmons’ decision to stay unvaccinated adds to the existing drama between the star guard and the Sixers. In the words of Keith Pompey – “as of a month ago, a bench player who rarely plays and Ben Simmons were the only unvaccinated Sixers.”
Pompey further reveals the story behind the return of Tobias Harris from COVID-19
Earlier this season, Sixers forward Tobias Harris got infected with COVID-19. He was averaging 19.8 points, 9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists before going down. Tobias was a key member of the Sixers’ early success as he averaged the most minutes in the team. However, the after-effects were evident in his return to the NBA.
Doc Rivers on Tobias Harris, who has COVID-19: “He’s doing okay, but not great honestly… Yeah, it hit him for sure. A lot of guys have had this and they are mad like, ‘What the hell? I’m fine.’ Tobias is not in that category right now, I can tell you that.”
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) November 3, 2021
Social media lashed out at Harris as he recorded a stat line of 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist in 32 minutes of action vs the Boston Celtics. However, the fans did not know that Harris had a temperature of 104 as checked after the game. He was later sidelined with non-COVID reasons.
Pompey also talked about Tobias Harris coming back from COVID.- “that Tobias situation was scary. I spoke to several people and they thought he still had COVID.” He further added -“You know after they practice the guys put up shots. Tobias had to take several breaks because he was so out of breath.”
The impact of COVID on the league more so on the Sixers is evident. Sixers have a league-high total of 27 games missed due to COVID protocols. Furthermore, the rules keep getting stricter as more teams are disallowing non-vaccinated players.
