After an impressive win on the road, the Philadelphia 76ers came out flat in the first leg of their two-game affair with the Cleveland Cavaliers to the tune of a 26-point drubbing at home. To make matters even grimmer, the team caught a sudden glimpse of the injury bug when Dominick Barlow took a hard fall on an offensive sequence and seemingly hurt his back.
Barlow exited the game and headed to the locker room with the help of his teammates, which cast a dark cloud on the team given that the 22-year-old has emerged as their starting power forward this season. Luckily, it seems like the 76ers came out fortunate, as Barlow is reportedly fine after such a nasty fall.
As Nick Nurse bared to the media, Barlow will be a game-time decision on their second matinee with Cleveland. Initially, the head coach said after the game that the team was likely to get him an MRI in the following days, but the young big man reportedly felt better at practice and ended up not getting one.
Well, sounds like Philly caught a huge break. Whew.
The 76ers catch a huge break as feared Dominick Barlow injury is not as bad as it looked like
Barlow remains questionable for their Friday night affair at home, but even if he ends up missing out on this one, the 76ers can say that they escaped disaster. After all, the 22-year-old has become so important to them on both ends, especially defensively, as their resident energy guy in the starting lineup.
The 76ers also just got Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford back from major injuries, and having to lose Barlow to injury would have sapped them of their depth at the power forward position. Fortunately, that will not be the case, although both players could see increased time notwithstanding Barlow’s status out of caution.
Philadelphia is getting closer to the halfway point of the regular season, so getting healthier will be even more crucial. The standings in the East are beginning to look a little convoluted after the first-seeded Pistons, and the 76ers actually have a realistic chance at securing a higher spot so long as health permits.
Of course, the 76ers ought to be more cautious with Dominick Barlow for the meantime. He will definitely be eager to play, but the team has more than enough juice to fill in for him if he needs time to rest, even if only for a very brief period.