Although the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be on the upside of their injury woes, more players keep dropping like flies. Here’s who’s active and who’s not.
The Philadelphia 76ers season has been themed by injury. Rookie point guard T.J. McConnell–who has made himself a big name in the NBA so far–wouldn’t have even made this team if it wasn’t for injury. The team started out this year with a ton of injuries. Joel Embiid, Carl Landry, Robert Covington, Kendall Marshall, Tony Wroten, and Nik Stauskas all were injured within the first few games. The Sixers were so injured they were able to apply for an extra roster spot, bringing in Phil Pressey with that.
We’ve also seen Nerlens Noel and Christian Wood miss some time due to injury this year.
Wednesday night’s game against the New York Knicks was full of injuries, but luckily it looks like nothing that a few band-aids can’t hurt.
Here’s a full injury report:
Jerami Grant
Jerami Grant suffered a lower back contusion against the Knicks and did not return to the game after scoring six points, blocking three shots, and pulling in four rebounds. Luckily for Philly, this loss doesn’t seem to be one that will have him miss any more time. This is good because Grant has been seeing a lot more floor time, and will with Jahlil Okafor unavailable due to suspension.
Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel was hit in the head during the course of Wednesday night’s Knicks game. At first, it looked pretty bad as Noel was sprawled out below the hoop for some time, but after going to the bench and being quickly evaluated, he was deemed okay to return to the game. He shouldn’t miss any more time.
Robert Covington
Robert Covington was kneed in the thigh during the Knicks game, and was limping for some time on the floor. This was alarming for fans because Covington has already missed tons of time this season due to knee injury, and he was just starting to heat up. Over the last two games, Covington has hit seven three-pointers, and scored a total of 33 points (threes seem to be the theme for Covington, his jersey number is 33).
According to Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times, Covington shouldn’t miss any time due to this injury.
Seems like he should be able to play Saturday vs. Nuggets. https://t.co/HvhjuBJsL9
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) December 3, 2015
Tony Wroten
Tony Wroten hasn’t played single game this season, but finally appears ready to return to a game. This return has been long-anticipated, but it’s going to be interesting to see how he fits in with the (now established) backcourt that’s been doing decently as of late. Wroten is more of an all-around point guard than anyone the Sixers have tried. T.J. McConnell couldn’t score, and Isaiah Canaan couldn’t pass.
According to Wroten’s Twitter and what he’s told multiple beat writers, he plans to return next Friday, December 11th. It’s not team official, but I think we can count on Wroten’s word.
Just wanna help my team. In do time tho. My time coming. 12/11 #Seven_Six
— Tone Wroten (@TWroten_LOE) November 24, 2015
Kendall Marshall
Kendall Marshall has been in the same boat as Wroten, also nursing a knee injury to start the year. Marshall is just a bit behind Wroten (the two have been switching places as to who would come back first for months now) and will be back shortly after Wroten’s December 11th return.
Just as Wroten complicates the backcourt, so does Marshall. Where will all of these guards find playing minutes? Brett Brown may only know.
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Carl Landry
Carl Landry is set to return in January at some point.