Sixers list Joel Embiid as questionable for Monday’s game against the Trail Blazers
Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris all missed the loss on Saturday. Embiid’s knee might be the biggest concern.
PORTLAND, Ore. — There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding who will be available for the 76ers in their game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris, their three best players, are all listed on the injury report after missing a 111-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Embiid is questionable with left knee soreness after being a late scratch from the much-anticipated matchup against Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. Maxey is questionable after being sidelined Saturday with a sprained left ankle. Harris is questionable after missing the last two games with an illness.
De’Anthony Melton (back) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) will remain sidelined for the Sixers (29-15).
Embiid’s knee might be the biggest concern.
The Sixers’ athletic trainers didn’t like what they saw from the reigning league MVP during his pregame on-court warmup for Saturday’s game. The trainers made the decision to shut him down for the day. That was the 11th game Embiid missed this season.
According to the new collective bargaining agreement, players are required to participate in a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for the NBA’s regular-season awards, including MVP. As a result, Embiid can miss only six of the Sixers’ remaining 38 games to be eligible to win his second straight MVP.
Oubre’s bounce-back game
Kelly Oubre Jr. snapped out of his funk.
The Sixers swingman finished with 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting along with five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks in Saturday’s loss.
This came after Oubre averaged just 5.7 points on 38.9% shooting in the previous three games.
“I forgot how to play basketball for a couple of weeks,” Oubre said after the game. “”But it felt good to run, get the ball out in transition, and feel the ball a little bit, just flow. I got into a good little flow there, and I just wanted to win.
“But with opportunity comes success.”
Oubre played a season-high 39 minutes, 50 seconds with the Sixers being undermanned. That provided more opportunities to handle the ball. Oubre, in his ninth NBA season, got back to the basics in this one.
The 28-year-old is shooting 25.0% on three-pointers in the last nine games, including Saturday. So he scored a lot of his points on drives to the basket against the Nuggets.
“My three-ball is still icky. But at the end of the day, I feel good. It feels good at practice. So I’m going to keep shooting that.”