Should the NBA All-Star Game have been played? | Off the Dribble

Good morning, 76ers fans. We’re guessing that the NBA All-Star Game television ratings weren’t record-setting in Philadelphia because of the absence of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid due to contact tracing. As most know by now, before arriving in Atlanta, both were exposed to a Philadelphia-area barber who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Once that was known, Embiid and Simmons were declared ineligible for the game and weren’t in contact with the others on the team because of health and safety protocols.

Whether they would have seen the barber if there hadn’t been an All-Star Game really isn’t the biggest question. The big one: Should the NBA have staged this game?

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

Give NBA commissioner Adam Silver some points for honesty, if nothing else. He basically stated on Saturday that the reason to stage the game came down to economics.

“It is my job to look out for the overall interest of the league, and as I said earlier, I haven’t made a secret out of the fact that economic interests are a factor,” Silver said Saturday during a Zoom press conference.

The NBA, like all leagues, has lost a boatload of money during the pandemic. Leagues should do their best to make money, and they do. But should it be at the expense of the players?

Regardless of the Simmons/Embiid situation, the optics suggested that this game should not have been played. The biggest reason is that the players have been asked to have a short offseason, a short first half with very few off-days, and an even shorter second half that begins Wednesday.

Take the Sixers, for instance. They are 24-12; they’ve played those 36 games in 71 days. In the second half, they have 36 games scheduled in 67 days.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ play in clutch situations a major factor in their first-half success

Speaking Sunday morning on an All-Star interview, Sixers coach Doc Rivers talked about his concern about playing all these games in a short period of time.

“We often talk about health and protocol, you know health and protocol is rest, too, and playing,” Rivers said. “So yeah, I’m concerned a little bit, of concern for our team a little bit as well.”

The NBA should be concerned, as well. These are some of the best athletes in the world, but one has to worry about them getting worn down, even though coaches will give them days off in the next 67 days. That also will further dilute the product.

Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden stated his dissatisfaction with playing the game.

“We have a game basically every other day in the regular season. You finally get an opportunity to have close to a week off and be able to take a deep breath and be with your family and things like that,” Harden said on a Zoom call Sunday morning. “We have this one-day event, which is pretty tough. This entire season is difficult. A lot of craziness has happened during the course of the year.”

Silver said Saturday that he hopes the NBA is back to “normal” by next season, which would mean 82 games, with the season starting in October and ending in June. This season, the NBA is playing 72 games.

The playoffs are supposed to end by July 22.

» READ MORE: Savor Joel Embiid’s performance for the Sixers. And don’t forget the process that led to it. | Mike Sielski

Getting to the finish line, both in the regular season and playoffs, will be an exhausting process. This was a time when the best players in the game could have recharged their batteries instead of traveling to Atlanta for the game.

Keith Pompey provides the details on Simmons and Embiid’s not playing in the All-Star Game, with reaction from Rivers and some of the All-Stars.

David Murphy writes that Embiid, Simmons and the NBA are doing the best they can, but says in the age of COVID-19, stuff happens.

Pompey writes that the Sixers’ heavy representation at the All-Star Game signifies growth the team has made since last season.

Simmons’ three-point shot looks sweet, according to Marcus Hayes, who writes that he has no excuse to not take it.

On Saturday, Silver talked about many NBA issues, and one is that he doesn’t anticipate the playoffs’ being played in a bubble this year.

The Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, have qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s eight-year history.

The Blue Coats (10-5) will meet the Austin Spurs (10-5) on Monday in a single-elimination first-round game. The 8:15 p.m. game will be televised on ESPNews.

All the G League games this season are being held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla., the same place the NBA held its competition last summer.

Sixers two-way player Paul Reed has enjoyed an outstanding rookie season in the G League. The 6-foot-9 power forward, a 2020 second-round draft pick (58th overall) from DePaul, is averaging 22.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.8 blocked shots and has played in all 15 Blue Coats games. He leads the G League with 12 double-doubles.

» READ MORE: Who’s a better MVP candidate: the Sixers’ Joel Embiid or Denver’s Nikola Jokic? | Off the Dribble

Shooting guard Isaiah Joe, who was recently sent down to the G League to get some playing time, has averaged 8.5 points in two games with the Blue Coats, Known for his three-point shooting, Joe has hit just 3 of 17 (17.6%).

For the Sixers, Joe appeared in 20 games and shot 38.3% from beyond the arc. He was also a 2020 second-round pick, No. 49 overall from Arkansas.

Guard Rayjon Tucker, the Sixers’ other two-way player, averages 19.4 points and 4.1 assists.

All G League playoff games this season are single elimination. The semifinals will be Tuesday, with the championship on Thursday.

Thursday: Sixers at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m., United Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus

Friday: Sixers at Washington Wizards, 8 p.m., Capital One Arena, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Sunday: Sixers fans are back at the Wells Fargo Center — San Antonio Spurs at 76ers, 6:30 p.m. NBC Sports Philadelphia/NBA TV

March 16: New York Knicks at Sixers, 8 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

March 17: Milwaukee Bucks at Sixers, 7 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia/ESPN

Question: Will the Sixers make a significant trade before the deadline? — Tom Madden from Facebook

Answer: Thanks for the question, Tom. One thing I think is certain is that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey will make a move or two. How significant? I am not sure.

If Kyle Lowry is available, I do think the Sixers will do everything they can to acquire him. As Keith Pompey wrote earlier, Lowry would be a perfect fit for the Sixers, but he would for other contenders as well. I might be in the minority, but I still think Toronto (17-19) should look at acquiring a player who would put the Raptors in the Eastern Conference race instead of trading Lowry, even though he is in the final season of his contract. My guess — and only a guess — is that if Lowry becomes available, the Sixers will end up with him.