76ers Set To Be Without Starter vs. Knicks
On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers will welcome the New York Knicks into the Wells Fargo Center for the first time this season, as they attempt to build off of their win against the Chicago Bulls earlier in the week.
Their overwhelming win over the Bulls featured the return of reigning MVP Joel Embiid, after he sat out of the Sixers’ previous four matches with an ankle injury, which he suffered in mid-December in a contest against the Toronto Raptors. His return came in the form of a 32-point triple-double, his second of the season, doing so in only three quarters of play, along with strong efforts from Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, with the partnership combining for 41 points. While Embiid came back, De’Anthony Melton made a trip to the bench, for only the second time this season, as he battled from pain in his lower spine.
Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse elected to employ Kelly Oubre Jr. as a replacement for Melton, with the 28-year-old putting up 16 points, while proving to be quite the menace on the defensive end, recording three steals against the Bulls. It appears that Oubre Jr may be scheduled for another start as Melton continues to be listed as out due to lower spine pain. The second consecutive absence takes away from what has been an up year for the 25-year-old, as he is averaging a career-high 12 points per game, while also averaging 2.8 steals over his previous four games.
Elsewhere in the Sixers’ squad, Robert Covington and Furkan Korkmaz have been upgraded to questionable, after missing out on Tuesday night’s action. Covington landed on the bench as he had been suffering from effusion in his left knee, while the Turkish guard was suffering from an illness, which looks to still be hurting him.
