Joel Embiid (left knee injury management and personal reasons) will miss a fourth straight game on Saturday when the Sixers face the Pistons in Detroit, while Kyle Lowry (right hip strain) will sit out for a fifth in a row, according to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The good news for the 76ers is that Paul George, who has been out since November 20 due to a left knee bone bruise, has been upgraded to questionable and appears on track to be a game-time decision.
“We did do a good amount of contact and playing as well, so it was good to see,” head coach Nick Nurse said after George participated in Friday’s practice. “He looked pretty good out there.”
As for the status of Embiid’s knee? “The swelling’s gone down a bit,” Nurse said. “Still some soreness there. That’s about all I can say.”
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon participated in Saturday’s practice and is nearing a return, head coach Michael Malone said today (Twitter link via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette). Gordon has been on the shelf for Denver’s past 10 games as he recovers from a right calf strain. His return will be a boon for the Nuggets, who have a +10.3 net rating in Gordon’s 212 minutes on the court this season.
- Clippers swingman Norman Powell has missed the team’s past six games due to a left hamstring issue but is expected to return for the four-game homestand that begins on Sunday vs. Denver, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Powell is the Clippers’ leading scorer so far this season with an average of 23.3 points per game.
- Hornets center Nick Richards will be available to play on Saturday against Atlanta for the first time since November 1 after recovering from a broken rib, tweets Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. With Mark Williams unavailable so far this fall, Richards was Charlotte’s starting center prior to his injury.
- Lakers guard Bronny James, who hasn’t played in either the NBA or the G League since November 17 due to a left heel contusion, will begin his ramp-up process after team doctors determined in a Friday exam that the injury is healing, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James will be reevaluated in one week.
Its hard to watch Bronny’s career going down hill faster and faster. James needs to tell his son go play down in the G league until you get good enough to be in the NBA. Some parents can’t let go of their kids leaving home.
Going downhill means you were on a hill ……. Bronny did nothing noteworthy in HS and with USC.
Yes, Lebron should let the kid find his own way, in the G-League, China, anywhere.
Sure he was on a hill. He was born on third base.
But yes LeBron should let the kid find his own way in the G league.
He’s barely 20. His career has barely begun. Give him some time.
Meanwhile there’s dozens of players aged 20-30 who would kill to have the run Bronny has gotten and would have outperformed him by 100 miles.
That’s the thing, has has all the time in world ……. let him find his own way though.
I get it, it was a great historic, feel-good moment for all of basketball – but right now, it’s all about the basketball for Bronny.
He maybe in an NBA player , but he’s not an NBA player ……. IMO he’s lucky enough to be in a G-League roster.
* NBA roster
Players drafted in the fifties usually get 2way contracts. Shouldn’t they have offered him a two year 2way contract so he can develop? Why four guaranteed years? I’m wondering how long will it take them to try to trade him when daddy’s gone. 2 days? A week? A month?
Why do you care about Bronny’s career?
Don’t watch then , problem solved!
It’s casuals like yourself that are keeping bronny so relevant today – What’s this like your 30th post in the last 90 days solely dedicated to him ? It’s weird
Just thinking out loud and this is probably crazy and will get blasted by everyone, but what if professional athletes only got paid if they played?
Jumping right away to the worst case scenario, a guy would have to retire if he got hurt on the job because his contract would be voided.
He’d be done if he blew out a knee or whatever and then would have to find a regular job. Coaching, Consulting, run a business, go to law school, whatever. It would also make teir college career that much more important and guys would stay for 4 years, and an athlete would think beyond the playing field.
Yes I know it’s absurd and everybody will blast me but just think about it.
I guess part of the Fallout of this would got would be guys not playing as hard or diving for loose balls Etc won’t see wide receivers cutting across the middle as much, waiting to get laid out.
Maybe like the regular Workforce you get a certain amount of sick days?
Okay let me have it. Tell me why this is the stupidest idea you’ve ever heard. I think in about 2 hours I might wish I hadn’t even written this or even deleted it right away. Lol.
Everybody’s thinking the same thing, actually.
I’m not. It’s fun to bust on Embiid, but I’m not down for not paying a guy who tears his ACL. Because, you know, that would be stupid
I don’t think this is a dumb take at all. I’m sure most regular fans would probably agree with it. But, professional sports, almost unlike any other business in society is pretty close to pure free market capitalism. It’s just such a rare talent to make the NBA that they have earned the guaranteed contract, for better or worse.
I mean, the obvious answer is they’re unionized.
Yeah, the “why” is because they have rights.
The owners will just find a way to exploit it. The union exists for a reason. There will be arguing over the definition of “injured”
Awful take again on a Saturday night, once again Gary is on the sauce everyone!
Gary, every pro in this league has been playing ball since they were 3 years old. That period between age 3-17 is when lots of wear and tear on their bodies and what adds up and leads to injuries later on in life. These aren’t 9-5 jobs, like 99% of players will be lucky to last 10 years in this league. You ignore all of this – and in the process idiotically inadvertently caring about lifetime billionaire owners money more than the player who’s career will be over be age 36 whether they like it or not.
Chalking this one up to Saturday boozing…
Thank you for your feedback Davey, I appreciate it.
Yeah I knew this was a polarizing topic but that’s why I bring it up. Start a conversation. Why not? I want to hear why people think a certain way. I can learn a few things along the way.
Some things I understand and there’s a bunch of things I don’t. Why not talk about it?
Dealing with Babey J only means two things, either Babey J is perfectly right or you are perfectly wrong. There are no in betweens.
Any job in which that’s it’s almost certain that you’ll be injured while doing that job should come with guaranteed compensation.
Gary, it’s called the WNBA.
But, if like me, pro sports are played only by men, then your league would feel a lot like the way pro sports were until the early 70’s, when pro athletes made very little compared to what they do today. The determination of salary was simple, and players negotiated directly with ownership. Only the best paid athletes didn’t need off-season jobs. Unless you were from a disadvantaged background, pro sports weren’t a way to “get rich”.
With less financial compensation, it took true love for the game to stick with it, which made the game feel more “pure”. Careers were shorter, both because medical technology was less advanced and, also, because the lesser pay couldn’t compensate for the suffering from cumulative injuries of a longer career.
There are still a few mn’s pro sports where only a small number of players get paid well, and feel more “pure” as a result. I’m a rugby guy, and almost all leagues worldwide operate on that scale. A lot of European basketball, also.
Ari yes I understand but back in the ’70s and the way they did it back then is too much going the other way.
I’m not suggesting they should have other jobs or be like NFL referees who work in the off season as plumbers, or at least they used to lol.
These athletes are phenomenal and many have worked hard to get where they are. It’s not just natural ability it’s hard work. They SHOULD become rich.
I’m just thinking out loud that there has to be a way that players can suit up for more games than they do now.
Granted the injuries are more frequent today and that’s of course legitimate and I’m not complaining about that. But it just seems like there’s a lot of sitting out games.
Players sit out games because it protects both the team and player’s interests. Take Steph Curry for example. The Warriors have over nearly $175 million dollars invested in him. If he plays through a minor injury so that he gets paid then that injury somehow becomes a major or heaven forbid career ending injury because of it. If his contract weren’t guaranteed not only is Steph out of luck on the remaining money of his contract but the Warriors would be out the money he brings in via merchandise sales and fans in the seat.
There you go. I think you nailed it right here Taco.
Let’s run with this. Not necessary to play, but be available to play (coach decides). A reasonable number of games missed for health reasons. Could start with the numbers used for awards. I tried to find stats on proportion of missed games due to injury during hustle plays, but haven’t yet.