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.
