The Philadelphia 76ers received some much-needed promising news prior to their disappointing home loss to shorthanded New Orleans on Friday night. According to the Associated Press, Joel Embiid may return on Sunday when the 76ers hit the road to Orlando.
Embiid sat out his third straight game as Philadelphia fell to 15-21 on the season with a disappointing 123-115 loss to New Orleans (8-31). The Pelicans, who won for the third time in 18 road games, played without the suspended Zion Williamson while Brandon Ingram remains out. The 76ers, who are in the middle of the NBA in defense rating, allowed the Pelicans to shoot 48.4% from the floor and sink 18 threes at a 45% clip.
Granted, Philadelphia was shorthanded. In addition to Embiid, the Sixers were without Jared McClain, Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, and KJ Martin.
Still, Philadelphia was favored by seven points. With the loss, the 76ers fell to 6-11 at the Wells Fargo Center and 11-4 against teams with a sub-.500 record.
Philadelphia Needs Reinforcements, When Will The 76ers NBA MVP Return After Setback & Other Injury Updates
Before the game against the Pelicans, Nurse said that Embiid had hoped to play, but he continues to be bothered by the left foot injury. The “Big Fella” has sat out 23 games this season.
“It’s been aggravated, for sure. That’s why he’s not playing. Again, he’s day-to-day. He practiced yesterday. Hoping that maybe he’d be able to go today. Not quite ready. Hoping he can go for the next one.”
Philadelphia, which last had a losing record through 35 games in 2017-18, is two games behind Chicago for 10th place in the East. The 76ers are getting outscored by over three points a game on the season as they have struggled offensively. So, the 76ers need a healthy and dominant Embiid if they plan on being competitive for the remainder of the year.
Philadelphia is only 7-6 in games that Embiid has played. But the 76ers are 7-1 in games when Embiid has played at his normal MVP-type level.
Embiid is having a subpar year by his recent standards. Embiid averages 24.4 points with shooting splits of 45.2/32.7/92 in 30 minutes a game this season. He is also contributing 7.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.0 blocks. However, he also has produced four double-doubles and topped the 30-point mark five times.
76ers Injury Report
Philadelphia and Orlando (22-18) are meeting for the fourth and final time this regular season. The Magic, who are also missing key players, have lost two straight and 11 of their last 18.
Orlando has won two of the first three games, though the 76ers took the last matchup (102-94) on December 6. The Magic outscored the Sixers by 12 in their previous meeting in Orlando.
Turnovers and rebounding have been the Sixers’ biggest issues against the Magic. George and Maxey have played two of the three games versus Orlando, while Embiid has only appeared in one of the contests.
Embiid is officially listed as questionable for tomorrow’s evening clash in Orlando, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted out Saturday afternoon. While this upgrade is good news for the Sixers and Embiid, there is no assurance that he will play.
Joel Embiid is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Orlando Magic with a sprained left foot. Meanwhile. Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction), Kyle Lowry (right hip sprain) and Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery) will remain sidelined.
As Pompey noted, Drummond, Martin, and Lowry join McCain (out for the season) on the sidelines against the Magic. Drummond is dealing with a toe injury and will miss his fourth straight game.
While Drummond could potentially return on Tuesday when the 76ers return home against Oklahoma City, Lowry and Martin do not have a concrete timetable to return. Lowry will miss his third straight game with a hip injury, and Martin will sit out his 10th consecutive contest with a stress reaction in his foot.
It was previously reported that Martin was out of his walking boot but had not been cleared to return to the floor. When he does return to practice, Martin will likely be out for at least a week.
What Does The Injuries Mean For The 76ers
If Drummond and Embiid are both forced to sit out, that means the 76ers will once again be extremely thin up front. The Sixers are 2-4 without their top two big men, though Paul George also missed three of those contests. Their biggest issue in the games that Embiid and Drummond have both sat out has been defending the 3-point line and on the glass.
In these six games, Philadelphia has allowed opponents to shoot over 40% from deep while also being outrebounded by seven boards a contest. Part of the Sixers’ problems, especially recently, has been that George has had to play small-ball center.
While George has done an excellent job on the boards and defensively overall in this type of lineup, the 76ers are weaker defensively on the perimeter and smaller upfront.
“It’s different,” George said, speaking to reporters on Friday about his role without Embiid. “I’m used to scrapping and running around and chasing and fighting through screens. … But being mindful of my ability to clog the middle and kind of help and cut off passing lanes and driving lanes and kind of battle with the bigs is what Nick sees in that style.”
The Problem Has Been The Bench
Guershon Yabulese has started the six games that both Embiid and Drummond have missed and 15 games overall. Expect Yabulese and Caleb Martin to remain in the starting lineup with George, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers are 7-8 in games that the French forward has played with the first unit. He needs to be more consistent on the boards and offensively.
However, the problem over the last three games hasn’t been the starters. The 76ers starters have a +3.1-plus/minus rating, with each starter averaging nearly 37 minutes of action. All six players who have started over these three games have seen a significant increase in playing time.
Philadelphia’s bench has been an issue all season. Part of the reason has been the 76ers’ plethora of injuries. Yabulese is the only player to appear in all 36 games, and just four Sixers have seen action in 30 contests. The Sixers reserves, which ranks in the bottom third of the league, have a – 7.1 plus/minus rating over the past three games — which is the worst in the league during this stretch.
Over the past three games, Nurse has essentially been forced to give his youngsters more playing time. Rookie Adem Bona is the only healthy true center on the Sixers roster and, as a result, is seeing 13 minutes a game over this trio of contests.
Eric Gordon has seen the most minutes of the nonstarters during this three-game stretch, though he also started the game that George missed. Second-year wing Ricky Council IV and two-way player Justin Edwards have also seen double-digit minutes over this stretch. Expect these four players to continue to see the majority of minutes off the bench with the Sixers so shorthanded—the 76ers currently have 12 healthy players.
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