Joel Embiid, James Harden will miss the Sixers’ road-trip finale against the Sacramento Kings
Harden, who leads the NBA with 11.2 assists per game, is out because of right foot tendon injury management. Embiid is out with left foot injury recovery.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Joel Embiid (left foot injury recovery) and James Harden (right foot tendon injury management) will miss the 76ers’ game Saturday night against the Kings, the team announced.
Embiid, who missed three games with that injury earlier this month, was present at Saturday morning’s shootaround at the Golden 1 Center but did not arrive at the arena for his customary pregame warmup.
Harden, who missed Saturday’s shootaround, was out for more than a month with a foot tendon strain earlier this season. Harden returned Dec. 5, and last rested the injury New Year’s Eve on the second night of a back-to-back in Oklahoma City. Coach Doc Rivers said this was not a predetermined absence for Harden and that he was feeling some pain in his foot following Thursday’s win at the Portland Trail Blazers.
Montrezl Harrell will start at center in Embid’s place, while Tyrese Maxey will slide back into a starting role after coming off the bench the past three games. Paul Reed and P.J. Tucker are the other center options behind Harrell. Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, and Furkan Korkmaz could see more minutes on the perimeter.
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Embiid has been playing like an MVP contender when healthy, entering Saturday ranked second in the NBA in scoring (33.6 points per game) on 53.7% shooting while adding 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. He has missed 11 of the Sixers’ 45 games entering Saturday because of injury or illness.
Harden entered Saturday leading the NBA with 11.2 assists per game while also averaging 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has has recorded three triple-doubles in his past seven outings, including totaling 16 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds during Thursday’s win in Portland.
The Sixers enter the matchup against the Kings on a four-game winning streak and the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 29-16. This is the finale of a five-game road trip, their longest of the season. They do not play again until Wednesday’s home date with the Brooklyn Nets.