The Philadelphia 76ers won’t outright say that they have a 100 percent vaccination rate, and if they're not that could become a problem for them this postseason.
While the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat had confirmed they were all fully vaccinated, the Boston Celtics and 76ers have avoided answering the question directly. The Brooklyn Nets certainly aren’t, as Kyrie Irving is on the record as being unvaccinated.
What furthered the notion that the 76ers didn’t all get the jab was Matisse Thybulle being unavailable for Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, with his designation being “ineligible to play.” Payers must be fully vaccinated to play in Toronto and Thybulle has not publicly disclosed his status, so you can draw your own conclusions about why he was ineligible.
Enter: Danny Green.
The 76ers veteran recorded an episode of his podcast “Inside the Green Room” while in Toronto. Joining Green and his co-host Harrison Sanford was Raptors forward Chris Boucher.
At one point after Green alluded to vaccination status impacting a playoff series, Boucher and Sanford tried to get Green to reveal the Sixers’ rate.
Here was the exchange.
Green: "I think (the Raptors) have a couple of advantages, which we'll speak about. We're both contenders, of course, we both have chances to win. I think they're a really good team, and they're very well-coached, Nick Nurse is very good. But they also have the vaccination advantage. So, the team that they might match up in the first round or second round, if they don’t have vaccinated players – if it might be a Boston or a Brooklyn –"
Sanford: "Or Philadelphia?"
Boucher: "Are you guys all vaccinated?
Green: "I'm not going to speak on that."
Boucher: "I’m just asking."
Green: "I’m not going to speak on that, but you guys have that advantage and you guys rebound very well. So you guys have a lot of length, bigger guards, guys with some experience, but play hard, rebound well and play as a team. Nick Nurse has got you guys up and down moving in a great system. And the fact that, I said the vaccination advantage it's going to be tough for some guys to come into the building – it’s already tough with full rosters to come into the building of Toronto and get a win. It’ll definitely be tougher when guys aren't able to have a full team. So it’s going to be interesting, man, to see how these playoffs turn out, for sure."
Credit to Sanford and Boucher for trying.
Regardless of your opinion on the regulations in Toronto, this is something that will impact teams that play the Raptors.
Players can sidestep those questions as much as they want. But over the course of a seven-game series, it’ll be evident who is and is not vaccinated.
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