It was an eventful Monday night in Philadelphia, where tempers flared and referees messed up. While they managed to grab the win over the San Antonio Spurs, it wasn’t all good. 76ers’ KJ Martin suffered an injury to his left foot. An MRI revealed the injury to be a stress reaction on Tuesday. The Sixers are attempting to climb up the Eastern Conference standings after starting the season in dismal fashion. Martin’s injury only adds to the season’s injury struggles going back to the Sixers preseason.
76ers Injury News Forces Improving Forward On Ice
Philadelphia 76ers’ KJ Martin Goes Down With Injury
The good news for Martin is that his injury will only need two weeks before being re-evaluated, as PHLY Sports’ Kyle Nuebeck reported. So, providing his foot heals nicely over the next couple of weeks, Martin could be back on the floor sooner rather than later. For him, that is the hope.
Martin has come on strong of late after a slew of injuries the 76ers have grappled with, providing the six-year forward with an opportunity to log more minutes and take on a larger role with the team. He has averaged 20 minutes per game this season. He’s also shooting a career-best in field goal (61.6) and three-point (38.1) percentage. Coming into the season, his second in Philly, Martin wasn’t expected to carry a significant role given the several players ahead of him on the depth chart. However, since the door opened for him to play more, he has produced at a high level. His production has aided him in becoming a more significant part of Nick Nurse’s rotation. Martin has even started in six of the 76ers last dozen games, where he has averaged 8.8 points in 24 minutes per game.
It’s a disappointing development for Martin, who has filled in nicely for the Sixers. Given that they could be active as the trade deadline approaches, his future in Philly is more uncertain now. Martin’s contract is trade-friendly, so we’ll see how his status with the team amounts as the weeks go by.
Is Philly on the Up?
Apart from Martin’s injury and Jared McCain‘s a couple of weeks ago, the Sixers have played it relatively safe in the last few weeks. By that, I mean, no major injuries to star players. Joel Embiid got through the injury to his face and is playing again, although he’s only playing every second game lately. Paul George has laced up in seven consecutive games and nine of the Sixers last ten. As for Tyrese Maxey, he has been lighting it up since his return from a lengthy absence.
The Sixers have won seven of their last ten matchups. They remain closer to the bottom of the East than the top. However, they are winning more than they’re losing these days. Are we seeing something similar to what the Milwaukee Bucks started to put together in mid-November? At 10-17, the Sixers still have much work to do. That being said, it’s not impossible for them to move up the standings more over the next few weeks if they continue to win more than lose.
In keeping the main thing the main thing, it all comes down to the availability of their stars—Embiid more so than George and Maxey. The Sixers are just 27 games into the season, and time remains on their side for now. The East is full of underperforming teams. They should be in their most aggressive mode to take advantage of a weak conference.
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